That Sodding Malfoy
by ladycrawfish
Summary: MARRIAGE LAW - I know, I know. It's overdone. But this is the story that I've looked everywhere for and haven't found, so I've taken it on myself to satisfy my Draco-Hermione craving.
1. The owls have arrived!

**G'day, audience! I know the marriage law plot is old and overused, but I have yet to find one that goes the way I want it to, so I've decided to make my own.  
>Sounds cocky, but you know how it goes – if you want it done right, do it yourself! Now I can satisfy my imagination. (:<br>Anyway, as I'm sure you know, I'm not JK Rowling, and therefore none of these characters are mine.  
>Let me know how you feel about the story and writing – reviews = faster chapters.<br>ENJOY!**

"The owls have arrived! The owls are here!" Mrs. Weasley called out, hurriedly rushing up and down the stairs of The Burrow, banging on the various doors of her children and guests as she went. When she made her way back down to the main level, she untied five different letters from five different owls, each baring five very similar Ministry of Magic seals.

Ginny was the first to stumble down the steps behind her mother, rubbing the weariness from her eyes and letting out a wide yawn. It wasn't yet dawn and the day was already bound to be ruined. The war had ended only a few short months ago and the Ministry was wasting no time in putting it's newly-returned power to use.

"Morning, dear." Mrs. Weasley said affectionately to her daughter sitting at the breakfast table, setting a steaming mug of tea before her. Ginny grunted in response and crossed her arms on the tabletop before her.

George was next down the stairs, followed by Hermione. The two sat beside Ginny and were the next victims of Mrs. Weasley's putrid tea.

"Good morning, Hermione." Mrs. Weasley said, putting her hands on Hermione's shoulders and glancing towards the staircase down which Ron, her youngest son, and the famous Harry Potter were now descending.

As soon as the boys had joined the others and were seated around the table, Mrs. Weasley clapped her hands and let out a loud sigh.

"Now, children," she began, "I know this isn't anyone's ideal situation, but it's what the Ministry sees fit. Whatever happens, we will all still be a supportive family."

With that, she distributed the Ministry letters to each of their designated recipients.

"Alright. Who shall care to read aloud?" She asked.

Harry raised his hand tentatively, and was the first to open his envelope.

"Here goes." He said quietly, before reading his letter loud and clear.

_Harry James Potter,_  
><em>The Ministry thanks you for your efforts on behalf of the wizarding world during our most<em>  
><em>recent skirmish with the Dark Lord. We extend our most heartfelt sympathies for any and<em>  
><em>all family members or friends you may have lost within the last several years.<em>

_The population of the wizarding community has taken quite the toll, dangerously reducing_  
><em>our census by nearly 60%. While we are thrilled that you are one of the surviving 40%,<em>  
><em>it is of utmost importance that we now work together to regain our strength in numbers.<em>  
><em>We have conducted several personality assessments and compatibility tests based on your<em>  
><em>old school records, and have come to the conclusion that your best chance at a successful<em>  
><em>and lasting marriage will be with:<em>  
><em>Luna Violet Lovegood<em>

_While we apologize for any inconvenience this pairing may cause, the Ministry believes it_  
><em>will be for your benefit and the benefit of the wizarding community. You and your chosen<em>  
><em>partner are to be married before the first of the new year and are to produce at least<em>  
><em>one (1) child within the first year of your marriage.<em>

_We hope you are happy with this new life and look forward to seeing your wedding_  
><em>announcement in the Daily Prophet.<em>

_Hoping you are well,_  
><em>Katrina McEllis<em>  
><em>Department of Marital Affairs<em>

When Harry finished reading, he shrugged his shoulders. The news of a new marriage law wasn't surprising. It was only a matter of time before the Ministry got around to pairing up the remaining witches and wizards and breeding them like rabbits. The official announcement had been in the Prophet the week before and they were all waiting anxiously to find out who their match would be.

"Luna's not bad." Harry said, somewhat relieved. "A little weird, but we get along alright."

Mrs. Weasley rubbed his back reassuringly and smiled over at Ron, who was sitting next to Harry.

"Alright, then. Shall we go around in a circle and get it done with? Who've you got, Ronald?"

Ron swallowed the nervous lump in his throat and unfolded his parchment. His eyes scanned the letter until he reached the printed name of his 'dearly beloved'.

"Bollocks." He muttered quietly, shaking his head. "They've stuck me with Lavender Brown!" He announced, crumpling his letter into a ball and tossing it across the room.

Ginny was next in line, and she smiled a little when she read the name.

"Neville Archibald Longbottom." She read proudly, folding her parchment neatly and resting her delicate hands atop it.

"That's lovely, Ginny!" Mrs. Weasley said proudly, beaming at her daughter. "You're next, Georgie."

George shot back his mother's tea as though it were firewhiskey and shook his head vigorously before turning down to his letter.

"Oy, that's not bad! Angelina Johnson! Bloody good quidditch player, that one." He said happily.

"Am I the only one who's gonna be miserable?" Ron grumbled, glaring at the room before him.

"No." Hermione's quiet voice answered, sounding as though she was choking back tears. "You're not the only one."

Everyone turned quizzically to the young witch as they awaited her announcement.

"Who'd you get, then?" Ron asked after a few moments of silence.

Hermione opened her mouth as if to answer, before clamping it shut and shaking her head.

"I can't even say it." She moaned, handing the letter over to Mrs. Weasley.

When the woman saw the name printed on the parchment, she clamped a hand over her mouth.

"Compatibility tests my arse!" She exclaimed, looking apologetically at Hermione. "Oh dear…"

"Well come on, then! Out with it!" Ginny said, frustration tugging at her voice.

When Mrs. Weasley refused to answer, Harry turned in his seat and grabbed the letter from her clutches.

A few moments passed as he scanned the parchment, but his jaw dropped when he reached the name.

"It's that sodding Malfoy!" He hollered.

The room was silent.

**Yeah, yeah.** **First chapter is a little short. Gotta get it started somehow, though, right?**


	2. Having it over for tea

**I'm so excited about the response I'm getting! Thank you guys so much for the encouragement – I didn't think anybody would be interested!**

**I got a request to see Draco's reaction to his 'assigned life partner'. I've never written from his asshole-y point of view before, so don't be too harsh!  
>Hope everyone likes it!<strong>

"This has got to be a joke." Draco Malfoy spat, crumpling up his letter from the Ministry of Magic and throwing it angrily back at the poor house-elf who'd delivered it to him.

"Winky does not know, Master Malfoy." She squeaked nervously, picking up the ball of parchment and walking backwards out of the room, never turning her back on the seething man before her.

Draco shoved his hands deep into the pockets of his black dress pants and paced back-and-forth across the room for what seemed like an eternity. Draco almost found himself grateful that his father had been slain in the war – his reaction would have been exponentially worse than his own.

"Draco." A quiet voice said calmly from the doorway of the young Master Malfoy's study. He turned to see his mother standing there, her eyes full of worry and concern. She walked over to him quickly and quietly read the letter from the Ministry that Winky had passed on to her.

"Hermione Jean Granger, huh?" She asked politely, her voice never rising above a whisper.

"HERMIONE FUCKING JEAN GRANGER!" Draco exploded, ripping the parchment from his mother's delicate hands and tearing it to shreds.  
>He threw the pieces to the ground, pulled out his wand, and shouted "INCINDIO". He watched them burn to ashes, though he knew that it would not change what had been written. The Ministry had stuck him with a mudblood – one that he happened to particularly hate.<p>

"Perhaps we should have her over for tea." Narcissa Malfoy said calmly, as though she had not just witnessed her son's outburst.

"PERHAPS WE SHOULD HAVE HER OVER FOR TEA?" He repeated, though he was not nearly as serene.  
>"Yes. Let's. Let's invite that bloody <em>thing<em> over for tea. I'm sure we'll get along splendidly and live happily ever after to the end of our days." Draco snarled.  
>His mother shrugged and turned towards the door. Before exiting, she took one last look at her son and exhaled.<p>

"We have no connections to the Ministry anymore, Draco. This is it." And she left.

TWO DAYS LATER

"What is it, 'Mione?" Ron asked, looking concernedly at his friend who was sitting across the table clutching a letter, her knuckles white and her eyes wide.

"It's from Draco." She said plainly, as though it was the most normal thing in the world. Her face gave her away where her voice hadn't.

"What's he want?" Ron asked, spraying bits of oatmeal across the table as he spoke. Classy.

"I've been invited over for tea." She replied.

"I thought those Malfoys only drank blood and fed on the souls of children." Harry snorted, coming around the corner into the dining area and sitting beside Hermione. He grabbed the letter from her and read it to himself, snorting when he came across things like "we would be _delighted_ to have you over" and "we're _most _excited…" He handed the letter back to her and leaned back in his chair.

"Well, what can you do?" He said nonchalantly, resting his hands behind his head.

Hermione scoffed. "I could always _die_. I'm sure that would be just as enjoyable as being responsible for bringing another Malfoy into the world."

"Well you've got to go." Ron stated matter-of-factly. "I mean, Lavender and I already have a date set."

It had been the same day they all received their letters when the 'lovely' Lavender Brown visited the Burrow.

She had scuttled in excitedly, wrapping her arms around Ron as though they'd never broken up. "Oh, my Won-Won! I always _knew _we were meant to be together!" She'd exclaimed, her voice shrill enough to wake the dead.  
>Before the day was out, she and Ron had set a date for their wedding, a mere two months from now, and she set off to start planning. At least that would keep her occupied and out of the general vicinity…<p>

"You and Lavender are _very_ different than me and Draco, Ronald." Hermione said darkly, folding up the letter she'd received from Malfoy Manor.

She pulled out her wand and summoned a piece of parchment and a quill before writing out her reply.

"Are you going?" Harry asked, trying to peak over her arm at what she was writing.

Hermione sighed deeply and cast Harry a look of resignation. "Do I have a choice?"

TWO DAYS LATER

Hermione straightened out the front of her knee-length khaki pencil skirt as she stood in the foyer of the infamous Malfoy Manor. She eyed her reflection in a suit of armor to her left and tucked in her navy blue button-down blouse. She'd managed to smooth down her bushy curls into a tasteful half-updo and even put on a little bit of mascara. She knew Draco Malfoy would be even more unhappy about their match than she was and did her best to make herself presentable.

Winky knocked quietly on the open door of Draco's study, where he stood in a completely black three-piece suit. "Master's bride-to-be is here, sir." She said sheepishly, never making eye contact with him.

"Don't call it that!" Draco barked, smoothing his white-blonde hair back one last time before marching passed the house-elf and towards the entryway where Hermione stood waiting.

She heard his footsteps before she saw him and straightened immediately. This was it. They hadn't seen each other since the final battle at Hogwarts where he had disappeared with his family. Hermione had head that Lucious had been spotted and killed by a fellow death eater who had seen him running, while Draco and his mother managed to escape the scene.

Hermione turned once more to the suit of armor to make sure she hadn't sweated off any make-up and felt a jolt of electricity run through her when she heard Draco say her name. She was sure there was a sneer on that cold, hard face of his.  
>She turned to make eye contact and, sure enough, she had been correct.<p>

His icy, steel-gray eyes bore into her wide, almond-colored ones and they were locked in an unspoken competition.

"Welcome back, Granger." He spat, both of them knowing full well that she was not welcome at all.

Hermione stared back at him and nodded sharply. The last time she had been in this home, Bellatrix Lestrange, Draco's now-deceased aunt, had tortured her mercilessly.  
>"It's lovely to see you again, Malfoy." She replied curtly, her hands forming tight fists at her sides.<p>

"Please, _dear_," Draco jeered, "Call me 'Draco'. We _are_ to be married, you know."

Hermione fought to control her breathing. She knew he was just trying to get a rise out of her. She couldn't let him know it was working.

"Of course, Draco." She replied smoothly, walking up to him and extended a hand.

Not one to be outdone, Draco took her hand in both of his and raised it to his lips.  
>They felt cold as ice against her warm skin.<p>

Her breath caught in her throat and she felt sickened by his touch.

"Tea?" Draco asked, smirking condescendingly at her.

All Hermione could do was nod as she followed her future husband into a cavernous living area.

Her eyes landed on an elaborately laid out tea table with four place settings. Draco led her over to the table and pulled out a seat for her.  
>She noticed the tiny name-card sitting on a small plate in front of her and admired its delicate script. "Hermione Jean Granger", it read.<p>

She looked at the setting to her left, which was labeled for Draco. Upon looking at the name-card to her right, Hermione all but lost consciousness.  
>Bellatrix Prosperina Lestrange.<p>

**Supposedly Molly killed her during the battle at Hogwarts – maybe not. Let me know what you think! Next chapter will be up soon. (:**


	3. Mistress of the devil

**As a Birthday gift to love-them-all10, I've decided to write another chapter tonight. (: I hope it explains at least a **_**little**_** bit about how Bellatrix has 'come back from the dead'. I hope you enjoy! Thanks so much for all the feedback!  
>As always, more reviews = faster updates. Let me know what you think! If there's anything you need clarified in the next chapter, let me know. Also, there will definitely be some elaborating on the other couples in the next chapter!<strong>

"W-w-what? How? She…killed….Oh God!" Hermione stammered, her mind desperately searching for a logical explanation that simply did not exist. She looked up helplessly at Draco, who stood smirking down at her. "Something wrong, Miss Granger?" He asked, his arms crossed haughtily over his chest.

Hermione's mouth formed words at a rapid pace, though no sound escape her lips.  
>"Oh, please." He said condescendingly. "Use your words, Hermione. I thought you were top of our class."<p>

Her mind was racing, thinking of escape routes and different hexes she could silently execute. She turned from Draco to the treacherous name-card to her right, then back to Draco. "How?" She managed to whisper, dread seeming to seep from her very pores.

A shrill laugh filled the cold air of the room and Hermione knew whom it belonged to before she even turned.

"The Dark Lord is not the only one with horcruxes, darling girl." Bellatrix Lestrange said, giggling with all the delight of a fourteen-year-old schoolgirl. Hermione's jaw dropped and she looked over, wide-eyed, at the villain who had entered the room.

She looked ever the part of the villain, too, with her wild, dark curls piled messily on the crown of her head as her eyes darted madly around the room, never resting on Hermione for longer than half a second. Had she gone _mad_?

Bellatrix sauntered over to Draco and Hermione, her loud black boots clicking noisily on the slate tiles. She took her seat beside Hermione and picked up her name-card, gazing down at it lovingly. She leaned to her side and her mouth was merely centimeters from Hermione's ear when she spoke.

"You know the story behind the name 'Prosperina', Miss Granger?" She asked hauntingly. Hermione shivered at the feeling of her cold breath against her skin and shook her head slowly, not daring to speak to the creature beside her.

"It's from the Goddess, Persephone - the wife of Hades. The mistress of the devil." Bellatrix hissed, reclining back in her chair and laughing hysterically. The noise echoed eerily throughout the cavernous hall.

The name seemed awfully fitting.

Just when Hermione was sure her body would burst into flames, Narcissa Malfoy walked into the room, a look for pure disapproval coming over her face.

"Draco Lucious Malfoy," She chided, "a word, please."

He stood silently and any hint of smugness was immediately wiped from his face. He followed his mother from the room, leaving Hermione alone with Bellatrix.

Hermione inched he chair away from the woman beside her, though her efforts were quickly proven worthless as Bellatrix matched her actions, scooting closer and closer to the young witch.

"So how _are_ you, darling?" She inquired, though her tone was far from concerned.

Hermione shrugged her shoulders stiffly, trying her damndest to apparate out of Malfoy Manor. It was to no avail – clearly they'd taken extra security precautions since the war, knowing they were on a number of wizards' 'bad lists'.

"Something wrong, dearest? Why won't you SPEAK?" Bellatrix taunted, nearly shouting the last word, as though commanding her like a dog.

Hermione shuddered and closed her eyes tightly. She was acting childish and she knew it. The words "if I can't see you, you can't see me" repeated themselves over and over in her head.

"Perhaps…" Bellatrix began slowly, leaning her mouth closer and closer to Hermione's ear, "it would be better if I gave you more detail on how I managed to cheat death."

"You see, you clever witch, you, to create a horcrux, you must first kill a fellow witch or wizard. But you know this. You're a smart one, you are." She said, feigning affection as though she hadn't tried to kill Hermione just a few short months ago.

"I know what you're thinking, though. 'You've killed plenty of people, Bellatrix'. And yes, dear, yes I have. But I was saving my horcrux for someone special. Would you like to know who?" She taunted, breathing heavily, almost salivating.

Hermione shook her head, but she knew Bellatrix would answer anyway.

"Sirius Black." The woman hissed, drawing out each syllable to make the name last an eternity.

Just then, Narcissa and Draco returned to the room, each burning with a different kind of anger.

"Bella. Out." Narcissa commanded.

Narcissa Malfoy was a calm woman, but there was nothing but pure authority in her voice.  
>Bellatrix straightened in her seat, finally drawing herself away from the now-quivering Hermione, and pouted up at Narcissa.<br>Narcissa's smoldering eyes burned into hers, and Bellatrix gave in. She stood and exited the room without so much as a last glance at Hermione.

"Draco. Sit." Narcissa ordered, and he did.

Her face finally softened when she looked down at Hermione. "Oh dear." She said quietly before gliding across the room and taking the seat that had been occupied by her sister.

"I'm so, so sorry, Hermione. That was hardly a proper way for Draco to introduce you to the family." Narcissa apologized, her eyes expressing more anger at Draco than sympathy for Hermione.

"It's not a problem." Hermione replied, though her voice betrayed her.

"Perhaps we should just reschedule." Narcissa suggested. Hermione quickly agreed.

"I'm sure Mrs. Weasley would love to have you both over at the Burrow. Perhaps a different environment would make this a smoother process."

Narcissa nodded and Hermione stood from her seat. "Thank you for having me, but I'll be going now."

She walked quickly from the room, not sure how much longer she could maintain her composure.

Narcissa glared at Draco. "Go." She instructed, her eyes flicking over to the door through which her son's bride-to-be had just exited.

Draco rolled his eyes, but obeyed his mother, standing swiftly and jogging slowly after the exiting witch.

"Granger!" He called, catching her just as she was about to leave the manor.

Hermione stopped in her tracks and let out a deep sigh before turning on the balls of her feet and facing her betrothed.

"What could you possibly have to say to me right now, you fucking ferret?" The curse word slipped off her tongue before she could stop it. She knew that foul language was used by the less-intelligent crowd purely for shock value, but no other words could possibly convey the emotions coursing through her veins.

"I'm sorry." He mumbled quietly, as though ashamed that he, a Malfoy, would ever have to use the words.

"Right you are." Hermione hissed, turning to cross the threshold and apparating immediately back to the Burrow.

Hermione ran up the garden path towards the front door of the Weasley's home. She burst through the door and tears instantaneously began streaming down her face, crying harder than she ever had.

**Hope you all enjoyed!**


	4. Keep the nargles at bay

**Hello, my lovely audience! I'm extremely please with the feedback I've been getting thus far. I'm so glad you guys think my portrayal of Bellatrix was done fairly accurately! Because I'm so happy with you all, and the way my story is shaping out to be, I've decided to bless you with not one, but TWO chapters tonight! Woohoo! Really, though, I just skipped my 3-fucking-hour biology lab class tonight, so I have all kinds of free time to satisfy you guys. I hope everyone enjoys!**

"Are you alright?" A sweet, wistful voice asked. Hermione turned her right, but saw no one there.

She wiped her tear-streaked face vigorously, not wanting to make a bad impression with whoever was speaking to her. "Over here!" The voice said cheerfully, this time coming from her left.

"She's quite silly, isn't she Harry." The spectral voice giggled. It came from the kitchen this time.

Hermione followed the sounds of laughter, and came across Luna Lovegood, her fair, perfect face red with amusement.

"I hope I didn't scare you." Luna smiled dreamily, resting her full head of curly blond hair on Harry's shoulder. "I've been practicing ventriloquism. It's a useful tool when trying to keep the nargles at bay. They never know where you're coming from!"

Hermione raised an eyebrow at Harry, who shrugged and grinned at her. She was glad to be momentarily distracted from the pervious events of the day.

"It's lovely to see you, Luna." Hermione said warmly, walking forward and embracing the strange, pale girl before her.

"You as well, Hermione." Luna said, her voice coming from the opposite side of the room.

"Luna's only just arrived. We were about to have some tea, if you'd like to join us. You look like you could use someone to talk to." Harry offered, motioning to the kettle sitting on the stove.

Hermione nodded fiercely, breaking away from Luna and walking over to the small nook table. Luna sat beside her as Harry set three teacups at the table.  
>After pouring everyone's tea, Harry sat the table between Hermione and his newly betrothed Luna Lovegood.<p>

"Tell us what happened. I knew 'Tea-Time at Malfoy Manor' would hardly be a pleasant show, but you seem absolutely beside yourself."

Hermione took a long sip of tea, both elbows resting on the tabletop before her, and closed her eyes. How on earth was she to explain what had happened? She decided to just come straight out with it.

"Bellatrix was there."

Harry choked on the tea he had been drinking, but Luna looked serene as ever. "We saw Mrs. Weasley killer her, though, silly. You must be mistaken." Luna said.

"That's what I thought." Hermione said, her breathing growing unsteady as she saw Harry's complexion getting redder and redder with each passing second.

"WHAT?" He bellowed, his fists slamming on the small table, nearly splitting the old wooden boards it was made of.

Ron appeared around the corner, his eyes wary at the scene before him. Hermione's make-up had dried in streaks down her face and Harry was seething.

"What's all this about?" He asked, gesturing to the three wide-eyed wizards sitting around the table.

"Bellatrix." Luna said nonchalantly, a small smile ever-present on her face.

"What about her? Mum's killed that one, she has." Ron shrugged, taking a few steps towards the trio.

"She didn't….stay dead." Hermione said slowly, unsure of how to choose her words.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ron asked, still confused.

"The Dark Lord is not the only one with horcruxes." Hermione said, her voice free of any and all emotion as she repeated the words she'd heard earlier that afternoon.

"Oh, and the Malfoys are coming over for tea tomorrow."

It was Ron's turn to lose his cool this time.

"THAT BLOODY CREATURE IS NOT SETTING FOOT INSIDE THIS HOUSE."

THE NEXT MORNING

Hermione hadn't gotten a wink of sleep all night. It was five in the morning, the sun wasn't even beginning it's ascent, yet she was wide awake and scrubbing every surface she could reach. She was sure that the Burrow hadn't looked that clean in over twenty years, but it was still a homeless shelter in comparison with Malfoy Manor. How on Earth did she expect today to be any better than yesterday if the Malfoy's were too busy conducting a white-glove house inspection to talk about the situation at hand?

Hermione looked up at the clock on the wall and cursed.

"Eleven o'clock?" She said disbelievingly.

Of course none of the rest of the household was up and about – they'd been out late last night celebrating Harry and Luna's engagement (an event which Hermione had politely declined to attend, unsure of how she could keep her calm in anticipation of today's events).  
>Draco and Narcissa Malfoy would be arriving in less than fifteen minutes and Hermione looked like she should be camped out in an old railroad car rather than expecting a meeting with the Wizarding world's wealthiest family – yes, even after the war the Malfoy's had managed to keep a hold of their unbearably large fortune.<p>

Hermione darted up to the bathroom she shared with Ginny and looked disapprovingly at herself in the mirror.

"Really, Hermione?" she scolded herself, yanking a brush through her bushy curls. She gave up after just a few tugs and pulled out her wand. "Drastic times call for drastic measures."

With a few basic beauty spells she'd learned from Ginny, Hermione had managed to make herself look infinitely more presentable than she'd been as she ran from the Manor the previous afternoon. Her unkempt curls were tamed into cascading waves and her bright eyes were framed with a sophisticated, smoky shadow. Her lips had a faint sheen to them and the teeth behind them were impeccably white. She had just managed to slip into a modest, form-fitting gray sweater-dress (complete with black stockings and a pair of dark red suede ankle-boots) when she heard a loud knock on the door.  
>This was it.<p>

She hallway seemed to become narrower and narrower as she approached the front door. Her breathing was shallow and she was beginning to feel claustrophobic.  
>Hermione took a deep breath as she placed her shaking hand on the doorknob.<p>

She opened the door swiftly, perhaps a little bit too much so, and smiled warmly at her guests. "Hello, Mrs. Malfoy. Draco." She greeted, stepping aside and motioning for the pair to enter the Burrow.

**DUN DUN DUUUUUUN.** **And now I'm gonna go hang out and Starbucks and drink some tea while I write the next chapter for you all. (: It shouldn't be long!**


	5. Do we have to invite people?

**HELLO HELLO! I promised another chapter tonight, and here it is. (: I hope you all like it! **

Narcissa smiled widely at Hermione and led the way for her son, stepping gracefully into the newly cleaned home.

"My, it's lovely in here." She said politely.  
>Hermione managed a weak smile and looked at Draco out of the corner of her eye. He seemed just as uncomfortable as she was.<p>

"Isn't it lovely, Draco?" Narcissa asked, nudging her son sharply in the ribs with her elbow.

"Yeah, absolutely charming." He winced, rubbing the spot where his mother's bony elbow had landed.

"If, um, if you'd both care to follow me into the kitchen, I've got some tea on the stove." Hermione offered cautiously.

Narcissa nodded, her warm smile staying on her face as if glued there. At least _someone _wasn't ready to make a mad-dash for the door.

"So, Hermione, how has your summer gone?" Narcissa inquired, sipping amiably on the tea Hermione had poured for the trio.

"It's been quite pleasant, thank you. I must admit, though, this most recent Ministry decree was very unexpected." She answered, trying to think of a polite way to bring about the subject. She just wanted this conversation over. Hell, she wanted this whole affair to be over.

Draco scoffed and spoke his first real words of the meeting. "That's an understatement."

Narcissa shot him a wary look, being very careful not to offend their hostess. "Draco…." She warned, her eyes bouncing back and forth between her son and her future daughter-in-law.

"No, please," Hermione said, taking a quick gulp of tea, "he's more than correct. Even if the marriage law had been in effect long before now, I'm sure we're the least-likely couple (she stammered a little on that word) to be matched."

Narcissa tilted her head and considered Hermione's point, finding that she agreed very much. Perhaps the Ministry had a sense of humor – putting a proud pureblood with a muggle-born.  
>"Regardless of our feelings on these matters, though, it has already been decided. It is the way things are going to be and we had best learn to accept that."<p>

Hermione and Draco made eye brief contact before both casting their eyes back at Narcissa.

"You're right." Hermione sighed after a few brief moments of silence.

They both turned towards Draco, waiting for his consent to move forward with this most recent development.  
>He reluctantly gave a nod of resignation and took deep breath.<br>"So how are we supposed to go about this?" He asked. Both women looked at him, waiting for him to elaborate.

"Well, y'know, I get that we have to get married, have a wedding, all that stuff. But do we actually have to…._invite_ people?" He asked.

Narcissa let the rudeness of his question slide, grateful that he'd at least come to terms with what had to happen, and shrugged her shoulders. "Well, family to be sure. Hermione dear, will your parents be able to attend?"

Hermione first shuddered at the thought of having Bellatrix staring her down while she said 'I do', then was overcome with sadness. She hadn't spoken to her parents since she'd obliviated them over a year ago.

"No, ma'am. I'm afraid things are a little…complicated in those regards. I consider the Weasley's to be family, though. I'm sure Mrs. Weasley would love to help." She answered, still unable to shake the image of the leering Bellatrix Lestrange.

"Family's it, then." Draco said, a tone of finality in his voice. That worked to his advantage, seeing as the majority of the Malfoy family had been lost in the war.

"Agreed." Hermione and Narcissa replied at the same time. Hermione looked at her future mother-in-law out of the corner of her eye, and saw her smiling warmly over at her. How was it that Draco had managed to come from such a genuinely kind woman?

At that moment, Molly Weasley emerged from the staircase, a look of shock plastered clear on her face. Clearly the last thing she was expecting to see was what was left of the Malfoy clan seated around her kitchen table.

"Hermione?" She said quietly, her eyes darting between the two pale blondes.

Hermione had been too worried about having the pair over that she had completely forgotten to mention it to Molly, let alone ask permission to host the event in her home.  
>"Oh, Mrs. Weasley!" She said, clearly startled. "Um, you know the Malfoy's." An awkward greeting took place as they all nodded at each other.<p>

Once again, Narcissa took the reins in attempting to ease the tension.

"We were just about to begin the necessary planning for the wedding." She said kindly, "Would you care to join us? Hermione just mentioned that her own mother would be unable to assist us and she would love for you to step in."

Molly took an involuntary step back, surprised at the warmness and authenticity of Narcissa's invitation.  
>She recovered quickly, and answered just as politely. "Of course. I think of Hermione as my own daughter, anyway."<p>

And with that, plans were underway for the Granger-Malfoy union. Hermione and Draco spoke up as little as possible, allowing the older women to take charge on the organization. They both seemed shocked at how easily Molly and Narcissa got along, offering up different ideas and coming up with elaborate wedding plans.

Hermione was unsure of how much time had passed when the Malfoy's finally stood from the kitchen table. "I'll definitely be calling, Molly. Let me know what you think of the florist when you go see her!" Narcissa grinned.

Molly Weasley took both of the woman's hands in her own and smiled kindly at her, "Absolutely. Thanks so much for everything, dear. It's going to be a splendid wedding."

The two women led the way to the front door, leaving Hermione and Draco to follow awkwardly behind, keeping a large distance between each other. They were both beyond confused.

"Say goodbye, Draco." Narcissa ordered, though there was a hint of mirth to her usual commanding tone.

Draco offered his hand to Hermione, who shook it tentatively.

Narcissa eyed her son once more and he sighed. "I'll write you." He mumbled begrudgingly, clearly uncomfortable with the fact that he would indeed have to write to the witch whom he'd tortured relentlessly for seven straight years.

"Sure." Hermione replied, equally uncomfortable that she'd have to _reply_ to the wizard who had tortured her relentlessly for seven straight years.

"Well," Molly said cheerfully, sensing the tension, "You two best be off on your way. We'll talk later."

As soon as the Malfoy's were off the property, they apparated back to the Manor and Hermione turned to face Mrs. Weasley. She was absolutely dumbfounded.

"What was that?" She nearly shouted, her hands waving wildly in the air.

"What?" Molly replied innocently. "She's lovely!"

**I hope you all liked tonight's second chapter. I had a blast writing it. I couldn't get the image of Draco and Hermione just sitting there awkwardly while the two older women just went absolutely nuts-o together. Anyway, let me know what you think! What did you like, not like, wish I changed, want to be when you grow up. You know how it goes – the more reviews, the faster I write!**


	6. On my way

**I wasn't planning on writing another chapter today (since I spoiled you all last night), but I watched A Very Potter Musical this morning (which, if you haven't seen it, shame on you! It's the best thing since sliced bread.) and was struck with the sudden urge to write.  
>Thanks for all the great feedback – I'm glad you all like my version of Narcissa and that she and Molly get along! In my head, it was only Lucious who messed up the family. Anyway, here's another chapter for you all!<strong>

**Also, I've been instructed to double-space my dialogue because I've been acting like an eye-murderer. My apologies! I'll go through and fix all the other chapters, starting with this one. (: Have fun!**

_Granger,_

_I have absolutely no idea what I'm supposed to say to you. I am obviously aware of the_  
><em>fact that we are to be married, but I fail to see how that's going to change the fact that<em>  
><em>we are absolutely, 100% wrong for each other. I, for example, am a pureblooded wizard<em>  
><em>with a high status in society and dashing good looks. You, on the other hand, are a muggle-born<em>  
><em>(supposedly I'm not allowed to call you a mudblood anymore) with little to no social standing.<em>  
><em>I can't pretend like this is something I'm okay with. I'm not.<em>

_Anyway, my mum keeps looking over at me to make sure I'm writing you a sizeable letter,_  
><em>so I'm going to ramble on for a while just to satisfy her. My name is Draco Lucious Malfoy.<em>  
><em>I was born in St. Mungo's hospital on the seventeenth of June. I think it's absolutely ridiculous<em>  
><em>that the Ministry of Magic thinks they can take it upon themselves to match up all unmarried<em>  
><em>witches and wizards between the ages of eighteen and twenty-eight. I also think it's ridiculous<em>  
><em>that they somehow saw fit that I should be stuck with someone who is not only muggle-born,<em>  
><em>but is also a Gryffindor and best friends with Harry Potter. I thought you and that Weasley<em>  
><em>were together, anyway. Well, mum's left the room now, so I'm done faking this<em>  
><em>atrocious letter. I hate writing.<em>

_Draco L. Malfoy  
>p.s. I'll show up at the damn ceremony, but don't expect any more from me.<em>

Hermione stared confusedly at the letter in her hands. She noticed how he purposely left out any comment on her appearance, compared to his 'dashing good looks'. How on Earth would the two be expected to be married, _stay_ married (she'd recently read a no-divorce clause the ministry had issued, worried that a broken home would lead to a bad impression on the next generation of witches and wizards), and raise a child together if he wouldn't even speak to her? She was by no means excited for their union, but she at least had come to accept that it would happen. Harry and Ron had both calmed her down over the last week since the Malfoy's had been over and she had grown resigned to the fact that she had been fated to spend the remainder of her life with the one and only Draco Malfoy.

_Draco,_

_I figure that since we're to be married, we may as well consider ourselves on_  
><em>first-name basis. I hope you don't mind. While I understand the turmoil you<em>  
><em>must be going through, you must understand that I am in the exact same<em>  
><em>situation you are. Clearly neither of us are thrilled about the match, but we will<em>  
><em>both have to go through with it. I know your plan is to just show up at the<em>  
><em>ceremony and 'get it over with', but I feel it would be prudent of us to at least<em>  
><em>maintain contact, through letters at the very least, in order to at least learn a<em>  
><em>little bit about each other. From what I understand, your mother and Mrs. Weasley<em>  
><em>have a date set for us. We have exactly one month from Saturday (yes, Saturday<em>  
><em>as in two days from now) to come to terms with the fact that we've been doomed<em>  
><em>to spend the rest of our lives together.<em>

_If we have no interest in getting to know anything about one another, we should_  
><em>at least agree on how we are to raise the child we have been commanded to have.<em>  
><em>You don't have to like me and I don't have to like you, but we have to obey the law.<em>  
><em>Let me know what you think, if you would prefer to keep up contact through letters<em>  
><em>or through weekly meetings or what.<em>

_-Hermione_

She tied the letter to one of the Weasley's owls and sent it on it's way to Malfoy Manor. As soon as the bird was out of sight, she let out a deep breath and closed her eyes. Never in her wildest dreams did she imagine she would be sending Draco Malfoy a letter concerning the rearing of a child – _they're_ child.

Not two hours had passed before Hermione heard the faint tapping of a beak on the kitchen window of the Burrow. She opened the window and let the owl inside. Her breath caught in her throat when she saw there was a letter attached to its foot. She removed the parchment and unfolded it slowly, unsure of what to expect. Would he be offended? Angry? Was it a howler? There, scrawled on the paper were three small words.

_On my way._

And then, right on cue, there was a loud knock on the front door. Hermione's head jerked towards the noise and her eyes were wide. "Merlin…" She whispered to herself, smoothing her hair with her hands as she walked uneasily towards the door. She opened the door slowly, widening it just enough for her to poke her head through. The sight before her was absolutely unreal. It _had_ to be. There was no way in hell that Draco Malfoy would ever be standing at her door with a bouquet of bright yellow waterlilies and at least _attempting_ a smile.

"These are for you." He mumbled, his eyes never meeting hers as he shoved the bouquet at her.

"What's this?" Hermione asked, opening the door all the way and shoving her hands in her pockets, refusing to accept the flowers.

"It was your idea to come to terms with it." He shrugged, still trying to push the bouquet towards her.

"Are you…..Draco Malfoy, are you attempting to _court _me?"

**AAAAAAAAAND scene. I know what you're thinking: WHY ARE YOU MAKING DRACO OUT OF CHARACTER, YOU DIRTY BITCH? I HATE YOU!  
>But no. That's not my intention at all. I may<strong> **or may not write another chapter today (and that means 'yes, I will') that will be the events of this chapter, but from Draco's point of view. I'm sure that will help you!  
>As always, read and review. Hasta luego!<strong>


	7. Punishable by law

**Alright! I have picked up my baby from the groomers and chowed down on a delicious Spicy Chicken Sandwich (minus the pickles) from Chick-Fil-A and I am read to hop back in the game.  
>For those of you wondering how I manage to update so quickly, I have three reasons:<br>1. My husband is in Afghanistan, so I'm very bored  
>2. I'm taking night classes, so my days are pretty much empty<br>3. I have absolutely zero friends, and therefore no life.**

**And away we go with chapter 7!**

Hermione pulled a vase out of the cabinet beneath the kitchen sink and set it on the table. She finally took the flowers from Draco, who was leaning awkwardly against a wall, and placed them in the vase at the center of the table. She took a seat and gestured for him to do the same.

"So." She said after a few moments of uncomfortable silence.

"I received a letter from the Ministry earlier this morning just after I sent your letter." Draco said, pulling an important-looking envelope out of the inside pocket of the sport-jacket he was wearing.

There was a small text stamp on the back side of the envelope, stating "Open With Ministry-Designated Match".

He dropped the parcel on the table and shrugged his shoulders. "I figured it would warrant a meeting, rather than me just forwarding the letter."

Hermione gave an agreeing nod before opening the envelope and pulling out the thick parchment inside. She read the letter loud.

_Greetings, Happy Couple!_

"Somebody's jumping to conclusions." Hermione snorted, eliciting a small smile from Draco.

_It is my great pleasure to congratulate you both on finding and connecting with  
>your future spouse. While I'm sure you are both overjoyed with the opportunity<br>to get to know one another and plan your life together, it is necessary to first go  
>over the stipulations of this new Marriage Law.<em>

Hermione glanced up at Draco and they both seemed to be thinking the same thing: find the loophole.

_As your previous letters have stated, your marriage must and will take place  
>before the first of the New Year. This is both the Ministry's attempt to expedite<br>the new law and a way to stimulate the fallen economy._

_You have both also been informed that you are to produce one (1) child within  
>the first year of your marriage. The need to increase the Wizarding population<br>is at an all-time high. Any attempts at cheating this requirement with  
>contraceptive spells or bodily harm of any sort are punishable by law and will be<br>treated as treason._

_As I'm sure you have heard, the Ministry has recently approved a No Divorce  
>clause to be added to the Marriage Law. This has been put into effect to protect<br>the sanctity of marriage and to provide a stable household for your child(ren).  
>The only condition under which the Ministry would grant a legal divorce is in the<br>case of domestic violence, in which case the perpetrator would be sentenced to  
>twenty (20) years in Azkaban. There is no excuse for spousal abuse and it will<br>not be tolerated._

_A Ministry Official must be present at your ceremony and will present you with a  
>contract separate from your marriage certificate, verifying that you will abide by<br>the rules and requirements of the Marriage Law. This document will also include  
>an anti-adultery pledge. Any refusal to sign the aforementioned document is<br>punishable by law and will be treated as treason._

_While these actions may seem drastic, it was what the Ministry deems best for  
>the Wizarding community.<em>

_Once again, congratulations on your match and may your life be full of blessings._

_Wishing you the best,  
><em>_Katrina McEllis  
><em>_Department of Marital Affairs_

When Hermione had finished reading, she was infuriated.

"So in order for us to avoid this, you have to beat me to a pulp." She concluded, her nostrils flaring as she placed the parchment back in its envelope.

"There's not a chance of that, Granger. I'm not spending 20 years in Azkaban." Draco replied, shaking his head.

They both sat in silence for a few minutes, disbelief radiating off of their bodies. The Ministry had found a way to completely tie off any possible loose ends to their new law.

In an attempt to divert the conversation, Hermione decided to reflect on the day's earlier events. "So. What was with the flowers?"

Draco shrugged his shoulders and leaned back in his chair. "You made it very clear that my letter had been rude and I didn't think you'd let me in to go over this latest development if I hadn't come with some sort of peace offering."

Hermione just stared at him, so he decided to go on.

"I'd like to make it very clear that I'm not 'courting you', as you'd assumed. We're almost married anyway, so the idea of courting just seems like a waste of time. It's not like you could turn me down."

Hermione glared at him.

"The flowers were a way to get you to invite me in. Clearly it worked, seeing as we're sitting here right now. I would've been more than happy to just leave our communications at the letter I sent and call it a day, but if the Ministry is going to force us to force ourselves to make this 'marriage' work, we need to be serious."

"And what do you mean by 'be serious'?" Hermione asked tentatively, unsure of whether or not she wanted to know his answer.

"I propose that once a week until we are involuntarily bound together for the rest of our lives, we go to one of our favorite places and spend at least a few hours together." He replied. "For example, this week, I will take you somewhere. Then next week, you will take me somewhere. We'll switch off until doomsday."

Hermione managed a little smile at his 'doomsday' crack, and nodded her head slowly. "That could work. It would be a quick way to get to know one another."

"One tiny problem, though." Draco said, unable to hide the discomfort he felt at what he was about to say. "My mother says we should make it a date-type-thing."

Though he would never admit it, Hermione knew that Draco could never say 'no' to his mother.

"Well. We _are_ to be married." She agreed hesitantly, refusing to make eye contact with the boy before her. "I suppose we could call these outings 'dates'."

"It wasn't my idea, I swear." Draco added defensively, as though terrified that this girl would think he would voluntarily offer to take her on not one, but _several_, dates.

The two sat quietly for a few moments before Hermione stood from her seat.

"Well, it's been…interesting." She offered, a weak attempt at a smile tugging on the corners of her lips.

"Indeed it has." Draco agreed, walking towards the front door of the Burrow. "I'll owl you the details of our, uh, date."

He was clearly just as uncomfortable saying the word as Hermione was hearing it.

"Sure thing." She replied.

"Thanks for those, by the way." Hermione said, just as Draco was leaving the house. "The flowers, I mean."

Her turned back and gave her the smallest hint of a smile. "I knew they'd work."

And with that, he apparated away.

**Yay for story developments! Let me know what you think. I'm trying to keep them both as in-character as I can while still allowing the story to progress.**


	8. The GoldenfuckingTrio

**Hello, everyone! I know I've been awful with updating this last week, but there's so much going on!  
>My sister is getting married so we've been scouting locations and dress shopping, my puppy had to go in to emergency surgery, and I'm moving into a new house! So while I'm sitting here on the beautiful wood flooring of my currently empty home, I figure it's a great time to grace you all with a chapter! I promise, there will be lots of updating this weekend!<strong>

"About time." Draco grumbled quietly to himself as he saw Hermione enter the Leaky Cauldron. He stood politely as she seated herself at the table for two he'd requested a few minutes earlier. She leaned back in her old wooden chair and crossed her arms protectively over her chest. Her lips were thin and tight and she stared blankly at the man before her. Clearly Mrs. Weasley's enthusiasm and excitement for their outing hadn't rubbed off on her.

After a few moments of awkward silence, Draco excused himself from the table and walked swiftly over to the bar.

"Two firewhiskeys, mate." He ordered, resting his elbows on the bar as he cradled his forehead in his palms.

If Hermione didn't loosen up just a little, this 'date' was going to be impossible.

The bartender granted his request, sliding the mugs across the smooth countertop. Draco pulled a few golden coins out of his pocket to pay the man.

"That your girl over there, eh?" The bartended asked, a thick Irish accent tugging at his vowels, as he nodded towards Hermione, arms still wrapped tightly around herself.

Draco glanced over his shoulder at the girl and nodded his head, letting out a deep sigh.

"It's on the house then, boyo. Good luck with that one." The bartender chuckled, turning his back to Draco and resuming his cleaning tasks.

Draco thanked the man and dropped the coins back in his pockets. He took a deep breath before taking a mug in each hand and walking back to the unmoved Hermione.

He dropped the two mugs loudly on the table, hoping to get some sort of reaction from the girl. Hermione's body remained unmoving, but her eyes quickly flitted up to meet his.

_What is her problem?_ Draco thought to himself, taking his seat across from her and sipping slowly at his drink. _At least I'm making an effort – she's just sitting there looking all cross. It's not _my _fault this is happening. Goddamn self-involved bitch._

Hermione picked up her mug with both hands and took a large gulp. Her eyes widened and she spewed the beverage from her mouth as though she'd just drunken piss.

Draco narrowly avoided the spray of firewhiskey coming from her mouth and slammed his mug down angrily.

"What the bloody hell is all this about?" He demanded, his cold eyes boring into hers.

Hermione put her own mug back on the table and looked at him confusedly.

"Are you trying to poison me, Malfoy? What _is_ this?" She asked disgustedly, wrinkling up her nose at the foul beverage he'd served her.

"It's bloody firewhiskey, _Granger_." He replied, sneering as he said her name. "Thought it oughtta calm those nerves of yours."

"Nerves?" Hermione asked, straightening her posture. "What on Earth made you think my nerves needed calming?"

Draco rolled his eyes and scoffed. "Either that or you need someone to pull that giant stick out of your arse."

Hermione stood quickly from her seat, grabbed her mug, and emptied its contents over the top of Draco Malfoy's head.

No, she didn't splash it like one would in a cheesy soap opera – she dumped it, being sure not to let a single drop miss that perfectly slicked back white-blonde hair of his.

She stormed out of the pub and Draco was left dumbfounded, firewhiskey dripping down his face.

The bartender let out a roaring laugh as soon as she was gone, slamming his fists down on the bar with enthusiasm.

Draco shot him a look that would make Voldemort himself cringe, dabbing at his face and neck with an old cloth napkin that had been on the table.

"Eh, boyo, does this have anything to do with that silly Marriage Law they've put out?" The bartender hollered over, tossing more napkins in Draco's direction.

"What could have _possibly_ given it away?" Draco spat, trying with all his might not to hex the pub into oblivion before going after the dirty _mudblood_ who'd so humiliated him.

"Well. You're going to want to chase after her then, you are." Advised the bartender, crossing his arms nonchalantly over his broad chest.

Draco cocked his head to look over at the man. "Really? Please tell me, sir, why the hell would I want to go after _that_?" He inquired, mock-respect dripping from his icy voice.

"Because," The man shrugged, "just because she made a fool out you, doesn't mean you're now magically exempt from the law."

Draco knew the man was right, though he didn't want to believe it. He dropped his head heavily on the table before him, banging his forehead repeatedly, hoping he could cause enough brain damage to put him in the hospital until this stupid new Marriage Law would be deemed unnecessary, thus getting him out of any commitment to the dreaded Hermione Granger.

After a few moments, though, his head began to ache and he stopped. Being a Malfoy, he couldn't be seen walking around with a big bruise on his forehead. That would just be embarrassing.

Draco cursed loudly before standing from his seat.

He turned to the bartender and let out a deep breath.

"You agree that this whole situation is absolutely ridiculous, correct?" He asked, needing confirmation that he wasn't just being stubborn.

"Completely." The man replied.

"As long as I'm not the only one." Draco said quietly, walking swiftly towards the door.

01010101010101010101

Not ten minutes later, Draco was able to catch up to Hermione, who was walking angrily down Diagon Alley.

He'd called at her to stop or slow down several times, all of which she'd ignored.

His patience with the witch was already all but gone and his hand was twitching towards his wand. _If she won't stop, I can bloody well make her stop._

He could already see his mother's face if news reached her that he'd blown the girl to smithereens in the middle of Diagon Alley and, while the option was indeed tempting, he couldn't bring his mother any more shame than his father already had.

He was about twenty-five feet behind her when he stopped dead in his tracks. If she could embarrass him, he could definitely embarrass her.

"Hermione Granger, if you don't stop and turn yourself around this instant, I am done." He shouted clearly.

Hermione stopped in her tracks, but did not turn to face the man yelling at her.

"You are part of the Golden-fucking-Trio. Where is that famed Gryffindor courage you're so famous for?" He barked.

She stood still, thought refused to turn.

"I'm beginning to think the famous Hermione Granger is nothing but a coward."

Draco spat.

The two were attracting quite a crowd now. He knew Hermione hated attention and he reveled in the fact that he was able to make her uncomfortable.

Hermione turned on her heels with military precision and glared at the man taunting her. There was a fire in her eyes that had to admit was mildly enticing.

She stormed towards him, her steps thundering loudly as she stomped over the uneven cobblestones.

She did not stop moving until she was less than four inches from his face.

"I am many things, Draco Malfoy. But a coward is not one of them." She whispered menacingly, never once taking her almond eyes from his.

Draco was stunned at just how close Hermione was to him and had to blink several times to regain total awareness.

"Prove it." He breathed.

Hermione closed her eyes slowly and leaned her face in even closer, now merely centimeters away from that of her future husband.

She snapped her eyes open and snarled at the man before her.

"I don't have to prove anything." She laughed, stepping back away from him now, putting her hands on her hips. "You said it yourself, Malfoy, I'm part of the Golden-fucking-Trio."

_There's the girl that punched me in the nose third year._

**Alright! I'm pretty happy with this chapter. Please ignore any mild grammatical errors! I'm in such a rush to get this one out to you guys since it's been **_**forever**_**. **


	9. Daisy Chains

**Hello, darling audience of mine. So…I broke my leg today. That's probably a sign from the gods that I need to sit the fuck down and write more for you guys.**

**Anyway, I've gotten some not-so-good feedback on the last chapter! My advice? Shut up. If you don't like what you're reading and think I should do better, you don't have to read it. Now pretend like I'm sticking my tongue out at you like a child because that's exactly what I'm doing.**

**On that note, here's another chapter!**

"So now that we've established the fact that we are both no more inclined to this match than we were at the beginning, can we go about our mutually undesired afternoon together?" Draco asked smugly, his arms crossed haughtily across his well-dressed chest as he smirked at the girl before him.

Hermione nodded quickly, her hair bouncing pleasantly around her face as she did so and held out her arm for her government-assigned suitor to take.

He had to admit she had a very intriguing spark about her that he hadn't seen before. It wasn't often that Hermione showed her feisty side, but Draco certainly had a knack for coaxing it out of her.

Her took her arm in his own and, with a loud 'crack', apparated to a location that Hermione did not recognize.

She dropped his arm as soon as she'd found her center of gravity and walked absently away from him, admiring her surroundings. She could see a crystal clear lake a few hundred meters away surrounded by pine trees that must be centuries old. Her eyes widened as she caught sight of a herd of deer sprinting across a large, green clearing to her self. A huge smile overtook her face as she turned back to face Draco.

"Where in the world are we?" She asked, her eyes still darting around at the wild beauty surrounding them. Hermione was absolutely mesmerized.

"We agreed to take each other to our favorite places. This is one of mine." He said matter-of-factly, though his voice was much softer than usual – calmer to fit their environment.

"Well yes, of course. But _where_ are we?" Hermione inquired, walking in wide circles around him, her eyes never resting on one thing for longer than a split-second.

Draco turned his body slowly, his eyes following the astonished woman circling him. He put his hands in his pockets and relaxed his stick-straight posture.

"We're on the far end of the Forbidden Forest." He answered, being sure to take note of Hermione's shocked reaction.

"The Forbidden Forest?" She asked disbelieving, "I didn't know it could be so beautiful…" Her voice trailed off as she stared intently at an impossibly colorful butterfly flittering passed them.

Draco watched her become enraptured with every single thing around them. He was strangely pleased to see her so at ease and self-abandoned. For once, he wasn't thinking about the best way to kill her and get away with it.

"Just because something is surrounded by evil doesn't mean there's no good in it." He said quietly to no one in particular.

Hermione barely heard the words come out of his mouth, but she knew there was more significance to them than just a description of the forest. She almost found herself feeling sorry for the man beside her, but quickly pushed any thoughts of sympathy from her mind. Was he not the same boy who she had dumped firewhiskey on not an hour before? One small moment of honesty would not earn him any compassion. Not after all that had passed between the two of them since their first year at school.

The two of them wandered aimlessly towards the perfectly reflective lake in complete silence – Draco staring down at his feet while Hermione gazed all around her, enraptured.

"How did you discover this place?" Hermione asked airily, bending down to pick up the most brilliant dandelion she'd ever seen. "The Forbidden Forest was, well, forbidden during school."

Draco scoffed and ran a hand through his white-blonde hair.

"Nothing is forbidden to a Malfoy, Miss Granger." He said sarcastically, continuing to walk a few paces ahead of her.

When he did not hear her footsteps behind him, Draco turned to urge her forward but found her seated gracefully on the grass. She was plucking up as many dandelions as she could and laying them neatly at her side.

"What in the world are you doing?" He asked, his brows knitting together as he tried to understand why she'd sat straight on the ground – he'd had a small table set up barely a hundred yards from where they were now.

"What?" Hermione asked innocently, pausing her task of gathering wildflowers to look up at him.

Draco nearly had to catch his breath as Hermione glanced up at him. The sunlight, slowly beginning its descent in the West, caught her eyes at just the right moment to make them appear as though they were glittering. A slight breeze caught her gentle waving hair and blew it effortlessly behind her shoulders. _When in the world did Hermione Granger become….almost beautiful? _He thought to himself, almost disgusted that the thought had even crossed. She was a _mudblood_, for Merlin's sake. She may as well have four arms and suffer from epilepsy.

"Um, I mean, I have a whole set-up just a little ways away." He recovered, motioning in the direction of his accommodations.

"Let's just stay here a little." Hermione suggested. She patted the ground beside her, inviting Draco to sit, and resumed plucking up flowers.

Draco straightened out of his dark jeans and sat beside the bemused woman.

"Why on Earth are you killing all of these weeds?" He asked confusedly.

"Daisy chains." She replied happily. She took stock of what she'd picked so far and deemed her small pile appropriate.

"None of these are daisies." Draco stated.

"Well _excuse me_, sir. I didn't realize you were an expert." She said sarcastically. "Besides, it's just the concept I'm using. It has a better ring to it than 'dandelion chains', don't you think?"

Draco shrugged and lay down on his back. He crossed his arms casually over his chest, bent his knees just a little, and closed his eyes.

Quick flashes of memories darted behind his eyelids.

It seemed like just yesterday when his mother would bring him here late in the summer evenings. She would bring his favorite sandwiches and a few board games for them. She'd spread out a large red and white checkered cloth and they would lie staring up at the stars until the wee hours of the morning.  
>It wasn't until many years later that Draco realized she only brought him out on the nights his father would host Death Eater meetings at the Manor.<br>She'd tried so hard to shield him from the life his father led for as long as she could. Even now, she wouldn't tell him the grittiest details of what he'd done. Draco wasn't sure he wanted to know anyway.

Draco wasn't sure how long he'd had his eyes closed, but when he opened them, the sun had completely disappeared and the bright blue sky was replaced with the same stars he'd gazed upon years before.

He sat up quickly, his mind racing to catch up with where he was and how he'd gotten there. Dandelions tumbled from his chest as he straightened himself and he immediately began looking around for Hermione.

"Well good morning, sunshine!" He heard a pleasant voice call from behind him. "I didn't think you'd ever wake."

Draco felt confused. "I hadn't been sleeping, Miss Granger." He said, though he wasn't entirely sure that was the truth.

"No? So you've just been lying there with your eyes shut for about four hours now?" She smirked, walking up to stand in front of him. There was no hint of anger in her voice, which surprised them both.

Draco shrugged and stood up. He didn't like being looked down upon, even if it was just because he was sitting on the ground. It went against his nature.

He glanced down at the Rolex on his wrist and sighed.

She was right. He'd slept away the entirety of their time together.

"I'm sorry." He said awkwardly, not used to apologizing.

"It's alright. You're actually quite lovely when you sleep. You don't talk as much." She said, a small smile playing on the corners of her lips.

Draco held out his arm, which Hermione quickly took, and the two apparated to just outside of the Weasley property.

"Well…" Hermione said after a few moments of uneasy silence, "I suppose this wasn't so bad. Once we got the initial spat out of the way."

Draco offered up a small smile and shrugged his shoulders. "It definitely could have been worse."

They had only three weeks until they were to be married, and the best they had to say about their first outing was 'it could have been worse'.

Hermione's heart was racing. Something had to give. They had to speed up this reluctant relationship of theirs if they had any hopes of being ready for a wedding.

She closed her eyes tightly and took a deep breath.

Before Draco could register what was happening, Hermione leaned in quickly and gave him a hard, emotionless peck on the lips.

Immediately after she pulled away, Hermione made an awkward motion, that seemed almost as though she was trying to curtsey, and bolted away towards the Burrow.

"What the hell?" Draco wondered aloud.

**Hate away, haters. You shall not sway me!**


	10. I never thought it would end this way

**Hello, my darlings! Thank you so much for the awesome feedback from the last chapter! I thoroughly enjoyed writing it. It's difficult for me to ease the butt-hole-y Draco into any sort of affection, but I'm trying my damndest!**

**And to those wondering, I most certainly am pampering myself with my broken leg. I've been living off of nothing but sweet tea and turkey bacon for the last three days just because I can.  
>Anyway, I hope this chapter lives up to everyone's expectations.<strong>

An entire week had gone by and Draco Malfoy was going crazy.

"Isn't this what girls are supposed to do?" He vented angrily to Winky the House Elf.

The poor creature stood there, hands clasped behind her back, as she waited patiently for her master to finish his rant.

"I am Draco Malfoy, for Merlin's sake. I shouldn't be sitting around all week desperately over-analyzing every little thing that went on with that… that woman!"

Winky opened her wrinkled mouth as if to say something, but quickly thought better of it and remained in silence.

"And why in God's name am I _nervous_ about seeing her this afternoon?" He shouted, his hands animatedly raised to the ceiling, "Malfoy's don't get _nervous_, Winky!"

Draco didn't hear the quiet footsteps of his mother as she entered the room and was startled by her soft voice.

"Draco dear, Hermione's just owled. She's given you an address."

He felt fire fill his veins, starting at his heart and rapidly pulsing to his toes and fingertips.

"I think it's very sweet, the two of you traveling around to different spots. A nice variety." Narcissa commented joyfully, a smile playing at the corners of her lips. "How are things going with her?"

The fire spreading throughout him quickly turned to ice at his mother's question. What did she know? Had someone seen Granger kiss him? Who had they told?

"Wh-what are you talking about?" He stuttered, trying to sound casual (though it failed miserably).

Narcissa saw a look in his eye that she recognized as….was her son _nervous_?

"Draco…." She chided, "How are things going?"

Damn. She hadn't known anything. He was just too damn paranoid that someone would have known. _Now_ she suspected something.  
><em>Damn fool<em>. He thought. _You bloody gave yourself away._

"Things are….things are going fine." He answered, unwilling to give her any more than that.

"Hmm." His mother replied curtly, her lips tightening into a straight line.

"Well, you best get a move on, then. Can't be leaving your dearly beloved high and dry." She said slyly, exiting the room in one graceful, fluid second.

Draco eyed the little white envelope his mother had discreetly left on the table beside the door. Who knew such a small thing could feel so ominous? It was a giant elephant in the room and seemed to grow as he looked at it.

"Oh, grow up, Malfoy." He scolded himself, shaking his head vigorously before taking several large strides across the room.

He held it in his hands for a good thirty seconds before working up the courage to open it. He opened the envelope and pulled out a small piece of parchment. Upon it, written in the most fantastic calligraphy he'd ever laid eyes on, was as follows:

Marne la Vallée  
>Cedex 4<p>

See you there,  
>-H. Granger<p>

Draco paced eagerly in front of the fireplace. The address was obviously French, though he knew the idea of a date in France was far too romantic for Hermione. What was she playing at?

He decided not to dwell on the question, and just leap in the dark pool of surprise headfirst. He stood uneasily in the large fireplace, a fistful of floo powder slipping slowly from his too-tight grip, and took a deep breath.

As clearly as he could (though is French is absolutely horrific), Draco said the address on the parchment and threw the remaining powder at his feet.

He was engulfed in raging emerald flames and tried to keep his eyes shut as tightly as possible, for fear of vomiting all over his newest black suit (though he had dozens just like it). Flooing across country borders always took an unpleasant amount of time and just when Draco was about to taste his lunch for a second time, the spinning suddenly stopped and he was thrown from the emerald flames.

Draco landed flat on his buttocks and he brought his knees to his chest, tucking his head between them.

"Don't throw up, don't throw up…" He chanted softly to himself, his breathing rapid.

"Oh yes, Draco, please don't throw up." He heard Hermione say behind him.

His breath caught quickly in his throat as he realized she was already there.  
><em>Why oh why does she have to see my like this? Why would <em>anyone _have to see me like this? _He thought to himself, suddenly aware of just how silly he looked, curled up on the ground talking to himself.

"Where in Merlin's name are we, Granger?" He asked, unsteadily rising to his feet.

"Well let's go find out, shall we?" She suggested, a satisfied smirk clearly visible on her face.

Draco nodded his head and attempted to take a step forward. Gravity had different plans, though, as he miscalculated his footing and was sent tumbling to the ground again.

"Oh good lord, Draco…" Hermione muttered, bending down on one knee to help him up. She hooked her elbow under his armpit and hauled him to his feet.

"You alright there?" She asked, holding his biceps in her palms to make sure he was steady.

"Absolutely peachy." He sulked, clearly embarrassed.

Hermione nodded, hooked his elbow in hers, and walked the two out of the room they had been in. Draco had been too distracted to even survey his surroundings, but was immediately alarmed as they entered an industrial-looking hallway. The floors were covered in that strange airport carpeting and the walls were stark white. A few pipes came out at the tops of walls and crossed the tiled ceiling before going into the opposite wall.

Was she planning to murder him in a factory, say he'd gone missing, and get out of this whole arrangement altogether?

His eyes must have betrayed his calm exterior because Hermione immediately halted their movement and turned to look at him straight on.

"Everything okay?" She asked, clearly noting the alarm in his expression.

"Y-yeah, absolutely." He stammered.

He looped her arm through his once again the resumed their steady walk towards the solid gray door at the end of the hallway.

"So…." He began, trying to think of a way to take his mind off of the troupe of extraordinarily large hit men he was sure were waiting for him behind the door,

"This is your favorite place in the world?"

Hermione nodded eagerly, quickening their pace.

They were almost at the door and Draco feared he would start sweating from the anxiety.

"A-and where exactly are we?" He asked, his voice shaking involuntarily.

Her hand was now resting on the wide bar going across the door. All she had to do was push it and his life would be over.

_I never thought it would end this way… _He thought to himself, mentally drawing a cross over his chest.

"Take a look!" She squealed excitedly, pushing the door open with full force.

Momentarily blinded by sunlight, Draco shut his eyes tight braced himself for the pain of a full-body beating.

When a few moments passed and he hadn't been pummeled to the ground, he peaked open one eye.

His jaw dropped and he opened both eyes wide. He stepped in to the warmth of the sun, straight passed Hermione.

"What is this place?" He asked, awestruck. He turned in a slow circle and took in the bright colors surrounding him, the crowds rushing by, the excited squeals of children and adults alike.

"This, Draco Malfoy, is muggle paradise." She replied warmly, her hands proudly propped on her hips.

Draco turned to look at her curiously, his brow furrowed as he watched a wide smile spread across her face.

"Disneyland Paris." She proclaimed.

**And that's all I can force out of myself for the time being. My tea is gone and I need to brew some more before I can focus again. I'm very excited about the next chapter!  
>Thanks so, so, so, so much to Moonlit-Midnights for the stellar suggestion!<br>Love you all and can't wait to hear some reactions!**


	11. YOU PLANNED THIS, YOU WITCH!

**Hello, my darlings. You may all proceed to kill me now in whatever manner seems most fitting given my complete lack of updates in forEVER. I know. I suck. I've been studying like a mo'fucka for my midterms and I read the entire Hunger Games trilogy in a week. Clearly, my time has been well spent. :P I hope you all won't hate me for too much longer! I plan on updating non-stop for the next two weeks. Then I will be on vacation with husband for his deployment R&R for two weeks and won't give a damn about any of you or this story!  
>Well, I guess that's enough chit-chat. Let's get back to DISNEYLAND!<strong>

**Also, thanks so much for the great reviews on the last chapter! I'm glad everyone's loving it.**

"What in Merlin's name is a 'Disney'?" Draco asked, furrowing his brow as he tried to make sense of the scene around him.

There were children screaming in excitement, grown men walking around with giant mouse ears on and…wait, was that a princess walking by?

"It's not _a_ Disney, silly. It's _the _Disney. Walt Disney." Hermione explained between giggles at his naivety.

"I'm still 100% lost." He replied, holding a hand up as a visor against the sun as he looked into the distance. Why in the world were there hundreds of colorful cars flying around on tracks in the sky?

"Have you never heard of it?" Hermione asked, utterly bewildered at his lack of muggle exposure. She shouldn't be, really, the more she thought about it. He was, after all, Draco Malfoy: Pure Blood Extraordinaire.

Draco simply shook his head as he continued to gaze on in amazement.

"I can't possibly begin to explain it to you." She said, frazzled at the very thought of telling him the countless stories of Ariel and Aladdin and Mickey Mouse.

"How about we just dive on in?" Hermione suggested, a huge grin on her face as she pulled their park tickets from the pocket of blue jeans.

Before Draco could reply, she had intertwined his elbow with hers and was dragging him along towards the park entrance.

"Welcome to the place where dreams come true." A park attendant said in an excruciatingly monotonous voice. "Tickets please."

Hermione smiled excitedly as she handed the tickets to the woman in the booth.

The employee scanned them and pressed a button allowing the turnstiles would allow her customers through.

"Here's a park map. It clearly labels all the rides, shops, restaurants, bathrooms – you name it. Enjoy your visit." The woman droned.

"Thank you very much, miss. Have a wonderful day." Hermione squealed happily as she ushered Draco ahead of her through the turnstiles.

The woman didn't even offer a smile in response, but Hermione couldn't be bothered.

How can you _not_ be happy at Disneyworld?

Draco had taken a few steps in front of her before coming to a halt.

Something about seeing him completely out his element, finally letting that self-righteous smirk fall from his face, was almost endearing to Hermione.

They were no longer witch versus wizard, pureblood versus muggleborn. They were just _people_.

When Draco turned to face her, his icy blue eyes were wide with excitement.

"What do we do?" He asked, voice positively shaking in anticipation.

"Whatever you like." Hermione granted, handing the map over to him.

His hands gripped the map with such fervor, she was sure he would rip it clean in half.

"What is this Space Mountain?" He asked, turning to stand by Hermione and pointing out the ride smack dab in the middle of Tomorrowland.

"Oh Merlin, you're going to love it." Hermione said, a devilish grin appearing on her face.

Draco backed away a few steps, "I'm not sure I like it when you make that face."

"Oh, come on." She laughed, grabbing his hand in hers and all but running towards the ride.

As they traipsed across Main Street USA, Hermione had to tug especially hard at nearly every corner to keep Draco moving.

"But there's ice cream!" He whined, his arm outstretched towards one of the stores on either side of them.

"Sure, sure. We can get it later. We have all day." She lectured jokingly, never letting them stop their movement.

She had to say the same thing to him about three different souvenir shops and a particularly delicious-smelling café (that one took some effort on her part).

"Here we are!" She announced as they stepped under the archway leading from Main Street USA to Tomorrowland. Sleek metal stands and buildings quickly replaced the classic storefronts and Draco was once again awestruck.

Hermione led the pair over to a large, shiny structure with no windows. The words 'Space Mountain' were illuminated above the main entryway and people were lined up outside for nearly a quarter mile.

As soon as they got in line, Draco began sulking. "Why do we have to _wait_?" He moaned, dragging his feet as they inched forward.

"Because that's what normal people do, Mr. Malfoy." Hermione replied jokingly.

They stood silently for a few minutes before the both realized, simultaneously, that their hands were still joined.

Draco faked a cough and ripped his hand from Hermione's to stifle it.

"Sorry 'bout that." He said quietly, turning once more to take in his surroundings.

The remainder of their wait passed by in silence until they were very first in line.

Draco looked over at Hermione nervously, biting down fiercely on his lip.

"You alright over there?" Hermione asked, an eyebrow raised at his strange antics.

"Um, maybe." He replied apprehensively. "But, uh, why are they being strapped in like they're being catapulted into space?"

Hermione looked him in the eyes, dead serious, and spoke in the most serious voice she could conjure up. "Because they are."

Draco turned immediately on his heal and attempted to push through the line tightly formed behind him.

"Not a chance, Malfoy." Hermione smirked, grabbing him by the back of the shirt and pulling him back into place beside her.

"It'll be fine. Why do you think they strap you in?"

Draco scoffed. "If it was going to be fine, they wouldn't _have_ to strap you in."

Hermione rolled her eyes and grabbed his hand firmly in her own.

Draco looked down at their intertwined fingers and raised his eyebrows at her.

"So you don't try to get away, silly." She explained.

Draco was a little uneasy standing in public with such an obvious display of togetherness, but he couldn't deny that if she hadn't initiated, he would've tried to bolt again. What could possibly happen inside this metal structure that could require such extreme restraints? His mind wandered to the most awful explanations – dragons and aliens taking turns attacking while you're tied down, unable to retaliate. He pictures the ride catching fire and him being unable to escape. He decided, once again, that Hermione was leading him to his death.

"Here we go!" She squeaked excitedly, pulling him out of his imagination and into the seat beside her. She pulled her shoulder restraints down quickly over her head and buckled the seatbelt across her waist before turning to help Draco with his.

"I have a terrible, terrible feeling about this, Hermione." He said, his hands beginning to shake as she leaned over to fasten his lap belt.

"Oh, Draco." Hermione laughed lightheartedly. Just as the attendants stepped behind the thick red line painted beside the tracks after checking that their harnesses were securely in place, Hermione leaned over and whispered very quietly in his hear, "You should."

And with that, the coaster was off. It was completely dark with the exception of neon stars and planets whirling around them. The tracks jerked this way and that, going upside down on three occasions.

Hermione hollered in exhilaration, while Draco sat beside her, screaming his lungs out for dear life.

"MOTHER OF MERLIN, WE'RE GOING TO DIE! YOU PLANNED THIS, YOU WITCH! YOU WON'T GET AWAY WITH THIS!" Draco shrieked when he finally regained his ability to think.

And just like that, the cars came to a quick halt in the same exact place where they'd taken off.

Hermione laughed joyfully as she raised her shoulder restraints and unbuckled her lap belt. She looked over at Draco and couldn't help but increase her laughter.

He sat there, eyes wide in fear, his mouth hanging agape. His styled blonde hair was raised straight towards the sky and his hands were balled into white fists, tightly clutching the sides of his shoulder restraints.

"Draco, you're still alive." She giggled, waving her hand in front of his face.

He didn't react.

Hermione pried his fingers loose from his straps and raised them above his head. She unbuckled his seatbelt and stood, pulling him up alongside her by the elbow.

She groaned under his weight but managed to haul him out of their car.

She had him seated in the warm sun with a drink in hand before he managed to come to.

"What the bloody hell was that?" He gasped, his head shaking in disbelief.

"That, Mr. Malfoy, is what we muggle-folk call a roller coaster." Hermione explained.

"Uh huh." He replied quietly, unable to say much more.

"The famous Draco Malfoy can fly to unthinkable heights, but a roller coaster is enough to set him off his rocker." Hermione grinned, her hand rubbing absentminded circles on his back to calm any nausea that may have presented itself.

The remainder of their day picked up a much more jovial atmosphere as they returned to the ice cream shop Draco had so desperately wanted to visit. The pair managed to steer clear of any rides that Draco deemed 'too muggle'.

He had a particularly good time at the Haunted Mansion, making comments that he had similar décor in Malfoy Manor. Hermione tricked him onto the spinning teacups, resulting in his ice cream coming right back up, and he forced her to let him photograph her on the flying elephants of the Dumbo ride.

The day went by too quickly. Before they knew it, the sun was setting and the nightly fireworks show was in action. The pair lounged on one of the grass lawns surrounding Cinderella's Castle and watched the sky erupt with colorful lights.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Hermione said quietly, laying back and resting here arms behind her head.

Draco reclined and matched her position, too enraptured by the light show to respond.

As the display died down, Draco turned his head slowly to the side and saw that Hermione had closed her eyes. She was humming along with whatever song was playing in the background of the show and had the smallest of smiles adorning her lips.

Draco brows furrowed together in confusion as he tired to understand the intense desire he currently had to kiss her.

_What the hell are you thinking, Draco? _He chided himself. _One good day together and suddenly you're infatuated?_

She had kissed him first, though. Yes, that she had. At the end of their first 'date'. Would it be so terrible if he began to grow fond of her? They _were_ destined to a life together after all.

Draco sat pondering the pros and cons of it for what seemed like an eternity when Hermione let out a loud sigh.

"Are you ever going to man up and kiss me, Draco Malfoy, or do I have to do it again?" She said calmly, no malice or annoyance in her voice.

That was all he needed to set the voice of his cons to rest. He leaned in slowly and pressed his cool lips delicately to hers. An immediate replay of the fireworks show they'd just watched replayed behind his eyelids and he was awestruck at how normal it seemed be kissing her. Outside of the wizarding world, he saw nothing wrong with their relationship. Perhaps he would feel differently when he was back home lying in bed, but at this moment, here and now, surrounded by strangest in what is supposedly the 'happiest place on earth' (according to the map they'd been given), there was absolutely nothing that could be wrong.

**Hope that made up for my lack of updates recently.** **(: Let me know what you think! And please ignore any grammar errors – I'm too much in a rush to get this chapter up so you guys can read it to go through and nitpick it!**


	12. Everyone can dance

**Huzzah for awesome feedback! Thanks so much, everyone. It really gave me the encouragement to get this one out so quickly. I hope you like it – next chapter will be the wedding! And then some dirty-nasty-sexytime. Haha Enjoy!**

"Oooh, you love him!" Ginny squealed excitedly, her hands clasped tightly as they rested on the table in front of her.

"Do not, Gin." Hermione replied defensively. "It was _one kiss_. Hardly enough to get me to….feel anything."

Neville cleared his throat cautiously and wrapped his arm gently around Ginny's waist. "Well, technically, it was, uh, two kisses."

Hermione shot him a dirty look, causing him to return his attention to the Daily Prophet he'd been reading.

"Replay it _exactly_." Ginny urged, leaning forward in her seat until she was practically lying on top of the table separating the two women. "Moment by moment – what did you say, what did he say, who kissed who."

Hermione rolled her eyes before launching into a half-hearted story about the fireworks and closing her eyes (leaving out the part where she tried to make them look as kissable as humanly possible) and how she finally just told Draco to man up and do it.

"Oh, 'Mione…" Ginny said quietly, though her eyes were screaming. "You've done it now."

Hermione's eyes widened, looking alarmed. "What? What have I done?" She asked.

"Passed the point of no return, silly. Disneyland, pictures, fireworks, kisses…that's the sort of thing _real_ couples do." Ginny explained, her excitement shining through with each word.

"Is not! Right, Neville?" Hermione squeaked, pulling in the last defensive resource she had at her disposal.

Neville looked uneasily at Ginny, who clearly expected him to agree with her, and gave Hermione a shrug. "Oh, I don't know. I mean, maybe."

Ginny gave him a satisfied kiss on the cheek while Hermione once again shot daggers at him with her eyes.

"You're acting like it's such a bad thing!" Ginny whined, allowing her head to drop on Neville's shoulder out of exasperation. "You're going to have to marry him whether or not you get along, so isn't it surprisingly convenient that you may or may not be maddeningly in love with him?"

"I am not maddeningly in love with anyone!" Hermione screeched, her hands slamming down on the table.

"Who's not in love with anyone?" Ron asked, walking into the kitchen with nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist.

"Ew, Ron!" Ginny wailed, attempting to shield her eyes. "Nobody's going to bloody be in love with _you_ if you walk around like that!"

Ron shrugged and shoved a piece of toast in his mouth. "S'alright, Gin. Lav thinks I'm just the bees knees." He said, spewing breadcrumbs from his mouth as he spoke.

"Then let's save the show for Lavender, Ronald." Hermione scolded, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Right you are, 'Mione. Wouldn't want you lusting after what you can't have." He replied, giving them all a fake salute goodbye as he exited the kitchen.

Hermione rolled her eyes and Ginny shuddered violently. Neville was the only one without a look of utter revulsion on his face. "At least you're not stuck with that one, eh, Hermione?"

It had been true that she'd had a bit of a crush on Ron during school – they'd even tried the whole dating scene for a few weeks. Ron just never seemed to be 100% _there_. He wasn't ready for a relationship and Hermione certainly wasn't willing to put up with his wandering eye.

Hermione glanced quickly down at the thin silver watch on her wrist before jumping to attention.

"Speaking of your dearly beloved…." Ginny commented, a smirk coming across her face as Hermione turned quickly to exit the room.

Hermione turned to say something in response, but shook her head quickly and darted up the stairs to the room she and Ginny shared. She grabbed the package Draco had sent a few days prior and tore it open. The letter attached to it had given her an address, a time and instructions to wear the contents of the box to their third, and final, date before their wedding.

Hermione pulled out first a pair of black heels – much higher than she would ever pick out herself. They were a shiny patent leather with a mary jane strap across the top of the foot. She slipped into the shoes and buckled the small strap across. They were surprisingly tasteful and she was pleasantly surprised that she could walk in them quite comfortably. The second and final surprise in the box was perhaps the loveliest dress she'd ever laid eyes on. It had a modest halter-style neckline that showed only the tiniest bit of cleavage. It was the most amazing burgundy color and had a flowing skirt that hit just below the knee. The fabric seemed to move like waves around her whenever she took a step.

"What is he up to?" Hermione wondered as she admired herself in the mirror from every angle. The dress fit her very well, accentuating her tiny waist and delicate shoulders.

She took a deep breath and walked down the steps to the kitchen.

Ginny's jaw dropped at the sight of her, but before she could say a word, Hermione was spinning in bright emerald flames in the fireplace.

Hermione spun wildly out of the hearth, trying with all her might to stay steady on the four-inch heels currently strapped to her feet. Just when she was about to topple over, a pair of strong hands grabbed her just above the elbows and steadied her.

"You alright there, Miss Granger?" Draco asked, his blue eyes searching her deep brown ones.

Hermione hadn't realized how tall her was before – even in her heels, he was still a good five inches taller than her.

"Delightful." She said breathlessly, mirroring his grasp as she held onto his arms.

The pair stood silently that way for a few moments before the sound of someone clearing their throat drew them to attention. Hermione's eyes darted sharply to the left where the noise had come from and she made eye contact with a very sharp, pointed woman with a glare to kill.

"If you two are quite finished, we'd like to resume our dance lesson." The woman's shrill voice scolded as she tapped her heeled foot impatiently.

Hermione's head quickly snapped back to Draco who had begun leading them over towards the group. "Dance?" She whispered frantically as he pulled her close to him, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Mother's idea. Just go along with it." He replied, taking one of her hands in his and holding it out beside them.

"I-I don't dance." Hermione stuttered, accidentally stepping on Draco's foot, thus proving her point.

Apparently their instructor had managed to make her way over and scoffed loudly. She put her mouth right next to Hermione's ear and chided her, "_Everyone_ can dance, darling."

Hermione fought hard to hold back a snarl and managed to twist her grimace into a sickly sweet smile. As soon as the woman was out of earshot, Hermione dropped her head heavily on Draco's shoulder and let out a sigh.

He managed to carry their dance smoothly, the sound of Michael Buble's cover of 'Dream A Little Dream Of Me' setting a slow pace for them.

"So why exactly are we doing this?" Hermione asked, picking her head up again and looking him dead in the eye.

"Well, we're getting married in exactly one week." Draco said slowly, as though she was a mental patient.

Hermione made a head motion, encouraging him to continue. "So?"

"So…." Draco began, "Do you not think we're going to be dancing?"

"I guess I hadn't really thought about it….about the wedding, I mean." Hermione replied, her eyes wide with bewilderment.

"Consider yourself lucky, then." Draco smirked, pushing her away with one hand and pulling her back in to curl against his chest. "Mother won't let me hear the end of it. Flower designs, center pieces, archway embellishments…"

Hermione chuckled lightly at the idea of Draco Malfoy being bombarded by wedding details.

"I'm sorry you've had to suffer through it. Mrs. Weasley has taken extra care to leave me completely out of the loop. I don't even know what my dress looks like." She replied.

As the song came to a close, their instructor began stomping around the dance floor, shouting criticism at each pair.

"I think you've improved enough. Let's get the hell out of hear." Draco said quietly, his hand on the small of Hermione's back as he leaned in to whisper in her ear.

"Agreed." Hermione whispered hurriedly in response.

Draco grabbed her hand and led her quickly out of the back door, closing it quietly behind the two of them. They ran wildly down several flights of stairs until they burst through a door onto the cobblestone streets of London. The sun was blindingly bright and Hermione let out a small scream as she lifted her free hand up to cover her eyes.

They slowed to a steady walk and swung their conjoined hands widely between them as they went.

"I'd say we're both splendid dancers." Draco said loudly, a wide grin coming over his face. "As long as you let me lead and keep your feet to yourself."

Hermione looked over and stuck her tongue out at him.

The two continued their walk, laughing and smiling all the way until Draco caught a glimpse of none other than Pansy Parkinson walking towards them.

"Is that Draco Malfoy?" She squealed loudly, lowering her ridiculously oversized sunglasses on her nose she could get a clear view. She scuttled quickly over, unable to take too big of steps given the six inch heels she was wearing. "Merlin, it _is _you!" She said excitedly wrapped her arms around his neck and pulling him in for a big kiss.

Draco pulled away awkwardly, his hand still encasing Hermione's, and looked down at the weirdly animated girl who'd just come up to him.

"Um, hey Pansy."

Hermione stood awkwardly at his side, her eyes darting wildly around, looking everywhere but at the two Slytherins beside her.

"Tell me, Draco dear, why you're cavorting around town with _this?" _Pansy asked, her nose wrinkling up when she nodded her head towards Hermione.

"We're um, well, uh, we're to be…married." He replied uneasily, squeezing Hermione's hand gently as he said the last word.

Pansy let out a shrill laugh, her hand flinging to her chest as if to control her breathing. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but was unable to control her laughter enough to reply. She turned her back to them and walked away, still cackling like a maniac.

Draco looked apologetically down at Hermione, who seemed incredibly nervous and out of place.

"I'm sorry, Hermione." He mumbled, still holding her hand in his.

"It's fine." She replied quietly, her eyes never leaving the ground.

In silence, Draco led her to a small alleyway out of sight and apparated them to the property line of the Burrow.

"I'll see you on Saturday." Hermione said, trying with all her might to put a tiny smile on her face.

She turned to walk away but Draco caught her by the hand.

He pulled her into him and hugged her tightly, savoring the feeling of her small, warm body against his. He kissed the top of her head and released her.

"You really do look beautiful in that dress." He said quietly.

**Shazam! Let me know what you think. (:**


	13. Wedding pt 1

"Hermione Jean Granger, you get your butt out of bed this very second or I am going to hex the living daylights out of you." Ginny threatened, yanking the thing violet sheets off of Hermione's sprawled out figure.

Hermione let out a strangled groan and rolled from her stomach on to her side so she could glare at the seething redhead before her.

"I don't want to." She growled, managing to make herself sound surprisingly menacing.

Ginny rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. "Well I can't say I'd be too thrilled to be marrying a Malfoy today either, but that's the way it is."

Hermione glared at her.

"Up." Ginny commanded one last time before storming from the room.

Hermione shuffled from the bedroom and down the hall to the one bathroom in the Burrow. She stood under the scalding shower water for upwards of 20 minutes before she remembered to actually soap herself up. Emerging from the shower, she walked begrudgingly across the tile, dripping water with every step, and wiped a small circle of steam off the fogged-up mirror.

_Malfoy really isn't that bad._ Hermione thought to herself. In fact, the two of them had managed to get along quite well in the weeks leading up to their impending nuptials.

_Am I really even old enough for this? Mature enough? I can't have a child in under a year's time! What sort of nutcase thought this up?_ Hermione could feel her breathing quicken and felt herself in danger of losing consciousness. Just then, there was a loud bang on the bathroom door that drew her out of the depths of her own mind and back to the present, which was her standing there wearing absolutely nothing and dripping all over the floor.

"Are you alright, Hermione dear?" Molly Weasley's kind voice asked, laced with concern.

Hermione blinked rapidly and looked around her. She quickly yanked a towel off of its rod and wrapped herself in it.

"O-of course." She stuttered, opening the door a crack so the woman could see she wasn't bleeding from the ears under all the stress.

Molly gave her a quick once-over to be sure she wasn't going to pass out and give her a short, approving nod.

"Narcissa's here to help you get ready. Go grab a robe and I'll send her up." She said matter-of-factly before closing the door quietly.

Hermione quickly grabbed a second towel from the rod by the sink and quickly patted her face dry, being sure to clean any excess mascara that had pooled below her eyes. She threw the towel in the laundry hamper by the sink and tiptoed hurriedly back to the bedroom she and Ginny shared.

Ginny was sitting at the small wooden vanity between the girl's beds brushing out her long, red hair, humming dreamily to herself.

Hermione quickly grabbed the thin cotton robe from the footboard on her bed and tied it around her body.

She plopped heavily down on her bed and exhaled loudly. Ginny snapped out of her trance and turned to smile sympathetically at her friend.

"It can't be too bad. It's not like he's at all unattractive." She joked.

_Just like Ginny_. Hermione thought to herself, stifling a small laugh as she shook her head. _As long as he's not ugly, he's okay._

Just then, Narcissa Malfoy poked her perfectly groomed, white-blonde head into the room and smiled warmly at Hermione.

"Good morning, dear." She greeted, excitement practically radiating off of her body. "Are we ready?"

Hermione offered up a weak smile and rose to her feet. "As ready as ever."

Narcissa's eyes darted quickly towards the vanity Ginny was occupying.

"Gotcha." Ginny muttered, scooping up her hair products and shuffling out of the room.

Narcissa grabbed Hermione's hand and led her delicately over to the vanity stool, resting her thin, bony hands on Hermione's shoulders once she was seated.

"Alright then. We're going to start with just a dash of concealer…." Narcissa began, and within moments, Hermione was whisked away into a world of eyeliner and lip-gloss and hair curlers.

God knows how many minutes, hours, or even days had passed when Molly Weasley finally entered the room. Narcissa swiveled Hermione's chair around and stood back with her friend to admire her work.

Mrs. Weasley took in a deep breath and tears began to well up in her eyes.

"Is it really that awful?" Hermione asked, her hands going up to cover her face.

"No, dear." Molly sniffled. "You're absolutely a vision."

Hermione turned to see herself in the mirror but was quickly stopped by the firm grasp of Narcissa's hands.

"Not yet! You still have to get dressed." She chided. As she asked Molly to fetch the dress from the downstairs closet, she was practically bubbling over with excitement.

About 20 minutes and 200 buttons later, Hermione Granger was fastened into her wedding gown. Her eyes were squeezed tightly shut, afraid that she would lose all composure should she open them.

When her audience, which now consisted of Narcissa, Molly, and Ginny, finally coaxed her out of her own head and got her to open her eyes, Hermione was breathless.

This woman in the mirror looked nothing like her – there was no way she was this beautiful.

Her thick brown hair was tied in an intricate knot with soft, delicate waves falling around her face – and, oh, what a face! Her complexion was perfectly smoothe with a slight bronze glow and her round, chocolate eyes were rimmed with a deep gold liner smudged with a smoky shadow.

Her dress hung from her body in the most delicate fashion imaginable. Each stitch on the lace seemed to be more beautiful than the next as it clung flatteringly to each of her curves. There was a slight sweetheart neckline, beaded with small pearls and crystals, that led to a set of draped off-the-shoulder straps that rested daintily on her upper arms.

The dress trailed about a foot and a half behind Hermione as she walked over to her future mother-in-law. The champagne silk beneath the lace overlay seemed to shimmer with every step she took and the result was breathtaking. The silhouette was fitted, though incredibly modest.

Narcissa reached for Hermione's right hand and squeezed it tightly. She pulled a small drawstring bag out of her pocket and withdrew from it a small strand of pearls. There was a small, deep blue sapphire between each pearl, which matched the dazzling sapphire studs in Hermione's ears, and had a delicate silver clasp at each end.

"This belonged to my grandmother." Narcissa explained as she connected the two ends around Hermione's wrist.

She held her hand tightly for one last moment and then allowed it to drop to Hermione's side as she backed away to look at her son's future bride.

Hermione was in utter shock as she looked at Narcissa and was only able to whisper a soft 'thank you' before Molly clapped her hands together.

"We're going to be late!" She exclaimed, ushering Narcissa and Ginny from the room.

"You'll do splendidly, dear. Don't be nervous." Molly whispered to Hermione reassuringly.

**I know, I know. I suck. The actually wedding is coming up later today. **


	14. Wedding pt 2

Hermione's head was spinning as she approached the beginning of the aisle. Ginny, her made of honor, had just begun her walk and Hermione knew that she had approximately 15 seconds before the music would switch and she would be forced to seal her fate. She began to count down silently to herself, each number resounding like a gong in her head. By the time she reached 5 seconds, Hermione was near hyperventilation. It was the subtle change of the violins that drew her from her own mind and into the present. This was it. She, Hermione Jean Granger, was about to walk down an obscenely short aisle and join hands with _the_ Draco Malfoy. They were going to stumble through their vows and give each other a quick peck on the lips before retreating from the eyes of society to live out the remainder of their lives together.

Taking in a deep breath, Hermione forced her eyes open and took her very first step onto the aisle and into the watchful eyes of her wedding guests. She made a point to stare only one step ahead of her feet, focusing on one movement at a time. Lift foot, move foot forward, lower foot, repeat. Don't look up. Hermione kept a death-grip on the small bouquet of brightly colored marigolds and willed herself to remain conscious.

_You can do this, Granger_. She thought to herself. _You can do this._

It had been exactly one week since she had even heard from Draco. The last thing she'd heard him say was that she looked nice in the dress she'd worn on their last date. Neither one of them had made any effort to contact the other since then.

_What if he regrets saying that? What if he had a terrible time and is doing everything he can to keep from killing himself this very moment? What if I look hideous? Oh Merlin, is my make-up smudged?_ Hermione's mind was racing frantically and she was moments away from turning on the spot and running from this impending disaster when she felt an arm loop through hers.

Merlin, had she already made it to the altar? She looked down at her feet and saw a large pair of obscenely shiny black dress shoes standing directly beside her. This was it.

Hermione slowly raised her head, turning slightly so she could look into the eyes of her husband-to-be. She could have sworn she heard his breath catch in his throat as their eyes met.

Whatever doubts she'd been housing disintegrated into thin air as she saw his pale blue eyes expand to the size of bowling balls. He moved his mouth as if to say something, but he stood silent, gaping at her. His arm, which had been simply draped through hers, wound tightly down the length of her arm until his hand seized hers in a death grip – he had no intention of letting her go. A shy smile graced Hermione's features as a fierce blush came over her cheeks.

The two turned forward to face the Ministry magistrate responsible for officiating their ceremony and a palpable air of relief emanated from their wedding guests. It seemed everyone had been just as nervous as the betrothed couple. Molly Weasley was unable to stifle a shrill squeal of joy, which elicited a quick chuckle from the bride.

"We have gathered here this day to join together in matrimony Hermione Jean Granger and Draco Lucius Malfoy. In the aftermath of recent, horrific events, it is truly a joy for the Ministry to be able to be a part of such a merry occasion." The magistrate began. "Now, Mr. Malfoy, please repeat these vows after me."

Draco gave a curt nod to the magistrate and turned to face Hermione. He grabbed her other hand in his and looked down fiercely into her eyes with an expression she couldn't quite place. Fervor? Passion? Fear?

"I, Draco, take thee Hermione, to be my wife. To have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer…" He repeated with a strong voice, loud and clear for the audience to hear. His voice seemed to break a little with the last line, though, and he whispered it as though it were for Hermione's ears only. "…and I promise my love to you forevermore."

He pulled her left hand up and slid an extraordinary ring onto her finger. Tri-stone with a diamond center and sapphires on either side, lined with tiny inlaid diamonds around the entire band. He raised her newly bedazzled hand to his lips and kissed it.

Hermione swallowed heavily twice before she was able to tear her gaze away from the man before her. He truly looked dashing in his all-black suit with a tie to match the sapphires she was now covered in.

"I, Hermione, take thee Draco, to be my husband. To have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poor, and I promise my love to you forevermore." She repeated softly, her thumbs kneading small circles onto the backs of his hands. She slid his dark titanium band onto his left ring finger and gave his hand a quick squeeze of reassurance.

Draco gave her a half smile and cleared his throat, turning back to face the magistrate.

"With the power vested in me," His voice boomed, "I now pronounce you husband and wife."

Mrs. Weasley's loud sob interrupted his last sentence and she blew her nose noisily into a tissue.

The magistrate shot a rather rude look in her direction before turning his attention back to the couple before him. Draco's hands were no resting on his bride's hips, waiting rather impatiently for the man's permission to kiss her senseless. Hermione gripped Draco's biceps and she was already on her tiptoes ready to pounce at him.

"You may now kiss your bride." The Ministry official said kindly after holding the suspense in the air for a few minutes.

Hermione flung her arms around Draco's neck before the word 'bride' was finished and pressed her lips passionately against her new husband's. Draco's hands held firmly against Hermione's back, unwilling to let her go. His tongue gently traced the curve of her lower lip and he had to fight the urge not to go full-on make-out sesh right then and there.

Applause erupt around the couple as everyone rose to their feet. A few people even hollered their congratulations.

When the newlyweds finally came up for air, they turned to face their friends and family. Draco wrapped his arm tightly around Hermione's waist and pulled her close to him.

Flashbulbs went off around them and they both knew they would be on the very front page of the Daily Prophet come morning.

**Okay, so I know that was short, but I think it was sweet and to the point. Next chapter is the, ahem, wedding night. It's gonna be steamy, so if that's not your scene, do yourself a favor and skip. I know things seem unrealistic and lovey-dovey right now, but just you want for the next few chapters! Stuff is gonna get pretty bad for the couple… As always, more reviews mean more updates!**


	15. Hello

**Look who's back. (:**

Hermione sat on the edge of a large bed, her hands clasped tightly together on her lap, unwillingly to focus her eyes on anything but the soft golden wallpaper across from her. Her mind was racing, though she tried with all her might to silence it. She had just taken Draco Malfoy as her husband not three hours ago. She could barely wrap her mind around that, let alone the fact that they would soon have to, em, _consummate_ their marriage. She had been so wrapped up in the beauty of the ceremony and reception to remember the fact that once it was all said and done and the party guests had left, it would be just the two of them.

The soft sound of a door closing in another room brought her out of herself and into the present. Her almond eyes blinked once, twice, three times before focusing on her surroundings. She recognized that she was in the bedroom of the honeymoon sweet in a hotel whose name she could not call to mind. The floors were dark hardwood, beautifully maintained, though her feet rested gingerly on a plush, golden Berber rug. The bed sheets she sat upon were a stark white – it took her a moment of looking at them to realize there was a beautifully intricate floral pattern embroidered upon them. A large mirror in a brass frame hung upon the wall opposite the bed and Hermione avoided her reflection at all costs. To see herself, still in her wedding gown, in such a beautiful room would bring reality crashing down on her at a speed she could not handle.

A barely audible knock wrapped on dark wooden door. "Come in." Hermione mouthed, though no sound came out. She cleared her throat nervously and knotted her hands together once more before repeating herself. "Come in." Her voice rang clearly, though her nerves were practically audible.  
>She watched, her foot tapping nervously, as the door handle turned.<p>

Slowly, the one barrier between her and her new husband opened and Draco Malfoy silently entered the room. He stepped forward and shut the door behind him, his silvery blue eyes looking at the wall just behind Hermione.  
>"Hello." He muttered, his arms dangling limply at his side.<br>"Hello." Hermione replied in a near whisper, slowly rising from her seated position.  
>There was silence between them for a full minute.<p>

"That was a beautiful ceremony." Draco offered, sliding his hands into his pockets, his eyes still looking everywhere but at his bride.  
>"Yes. I believe our guests all enjoyed themselves." Said Hermione, her hands trying to make use of themselves by smoothing out the front of her wedding gown.<br>Another awful minute of silence.  
>Followed by another.<p>

Draco's eyes darted around the room, looking desperately for a distraction. He started trying to pick out patterns in the grooves of the hardwood floors.

The silence was torture.  
>"Please look at me." Hermione whispered.<p>

Her voice seemed to bring Draco back to reality as he slowly lifted his piercing eyes from the floor. He took in the delicate shape of her body, the soft draping of fabric over her slender hips and thin waste. His eyes grazed the rounded tops of her breasts, barely visible over the lace neckline of her gown, and admired her prominent collarbone and elegant neck. His gaze lingered on her full lips, still maintaining a small amount of the pink rose color that had been put on them earlier that day.

Slowly but surely, Draco Malfoy finally connected his silvery blue eyes with hers.

"Hello." He said again, his voice quiet, laced with a barely detectible note of panic.

Hermione did not reply, but offered up the tiniest of smiles.

He was just as nervous as she was.

After many years of nothing but hatred towards the man before her, they were forced together. It was by no means ideal, but it was necessary.

She had been informed that the Ministry had ways of knowing whether or not a marriage had been consummated.

If it must me done, it must be done.

Hermione slowly turned on the spot, her back now to her husband.

Draco was confused – was she rejecting him? Was she so repulsed by the lot she had been given that she couldn't even face him?

After a few seconds, Hermione looked back at him over her shoulder.

"There are too many buttons. They're so small and I can't undo them."

Draco's eyes widened looking from the long row of buttons trailing down the back of Hermione's dress, then back to her.

"Sh-should I?" He asked, raising up his hands.

Hermione gave a small nod before returning her head to a forward facing position, tilting it slightly down to give him a better view of the buttons.

A solid five seconds passed before she felt his fingers, cold even through the fabric of her gown, nervously fumbling with the buttons.

As he finished, her grazed his knuckles softly up and down her spine, reveling in the smoothness of her skin.

Hermione shuddered uncontrollably at the softness of his touch. No man had ever admired her in that way. She shook her shoulders slightly to release the tension of her sleeves and her gown slid gracefully to the floor. Her back still to her husband, she stepped out of the fallen fabric and stood completely uncovered. It had been Ginny's idea to wear nothing underneath – to eliminate any unwanted lines.

Draco Malfoy was speechless. Her dress had been beautiful, surely, but nothing compared to the soft, natural curves of her olive skinned body. He reached up and pulled three separate pins out of her hair, watching each waft fall gently down, resting between her shoulder blades. He slid the hairpins into his pocket and continued to stare at his bride.


	16. I did your buttons, after all

**I know, I know. A two year hiatus and that's all I gave you? I get it. I suck. But I promise I'll be on here a little more often than every couple of years.**

Hermione Granger turned to face her fate and before she was even steadily planted on both feet, Malfoy had her face in his hands, his lips pressed to hers. This was not the same gentle, adoring kiss they had shared during their wedding ceremony. Hermione felt a hint of desire and longing in the pressure of his body to hers, but there was another notion there that took her a moment to place.

_Ownership._

She struggled to push him away, pressing her hands firmly against his chest. She broke contact with his lips and turned her head to the side to discourage another attempt from him. Her breaths were shallow and ragged as she peered at him from the sides of her eyes.

Malfoy took a step backwards, a snarl finding it's way onto his face.

"What?" He said, trying to control his anger at being rejected?  
>Hermione looked at him incredulously, using her hands to cover up her breasts and private parts as much as possible.<br>"The bloody hell do you mean, 'what?'?!" She exclaimed, looking frantically around for something to cover herself with. She pulled the embroidered comforter off the bed and wrapped it around her body.

"Did you not just promise yourself to me?" Malfoy said calmly, his steel blue eyes losing any and all emotion as he took a step towards her.

The dead look in his eyes made Hermione shudder again, and not in a good way this time. She tried to take a step back to reverse his advancement and realized she was already pressed against the bed.

He took another step and closed the gap between them, putting one hand on her back and the other in her hair, pulling her into him again.

"No!" Hermione shrieked and maneuvered out of his grasp, leaping back onto the bed and cowering, her eyes searching the room for some sort of defense.

Malfoy looked at her, confused. Why was she scared? He'd followed his father's instruction to a T. You wed a witch, you make her yours.

They stared at each other, Hermione's breathing slowly returning to normal.

"I do not know," She said slowly, carefully weighing each of her words, "what is normal for you, but I refuse to be just a body for you to use as you will. I am your spouse – your equal. You will respect me."

Draco continued to look at her with confusion. She looked like a scared little animal, but she spoke with authority. He could so easily overtake her. He could so easily make her submit. But was that really what he wanted?

"How." He said. It was more of a statement than a question. Malfoy men were not used to being wrong.

Hermione slowly corrected her posture, coming to a more dignified position of sitting on her knees, hands folded gently in her lap, still completely covered by the bedsheets.

"To properly, ahem, _consummate _ones marriage, it must be a mutual act of, well, if not love, then at least agreeance. You may not force yourself upon me. That is, unless you wish for me to hex your private parts to the high heavens." She explained matter-of-factly. Hermione Granger spoke with authority, though she knew not of what she spoke. She knew what her fantasies were and how she had imagined having intimate relations, but she had never actually 'done the deed'.

Draco took her threat to heart and nodded, accepting what she had said.

Hermione nodded in reply and gave a short breath out of her nose.

"Alright. So. As I'm sitting here completely exposed, I recommend that you put yourself in the same situation so as to level the playing field." Hermione said quickly, willing this moment to be in the past already.

He looked at her blankly for a moment, not fully comprehending everything she had said. His head still had a faint fuzz to it (from the muggle wine she'd insisted upon having at the wedding) and she had spoken very quickly, her words practically slurring together.

After a moment with no reply or reaction from him, Hermione took the situation into a little bit more control. "Strip." She commanded.

Needing no further instruction (or threats, for that matter), Draco Malfoy raised his hands to the lapels of his suit jacket. He shrugged his shoulders out of it and folded it gently in half before leaning forwards to lay it on the side of the bed. His fingers deftly undid the top three buttons of his dress shirt and he paused, raising his eyebrows at his commanding bride. "All of it?" He asked.

"One should think so." Hermione replied, her eyes transfixed on the way his sleeves were just ever so slightly too tight around his biceps.

Draco continued to unbutton his shirt, removing and folding it the same way he had his jacket.

He hooked his thumbs into the front of his belt buckle and looked over at Hermione.

After waiting a moment for him to continue, Hermione realized he wasn't going to.

"Well, why did you stop?" She asked, growing impatient. As much of an arse as he could be, he had one heck of a body.

Draco let out a dramatic sigh, his eyes drifting across the ceiling before making contact with Hermione.

"I just sort of figured the bride would do this part." He explained casually. "I did your buttons, after all."

Now it was Hermione's turn to be dumbfounded. Her mouth opened ever so slightly as though she were going to reply, but she did not.  
>"Mrs. Malfoy, I would like for you to undo my trousers." Draco said clearly.<p>

Hermione inched slowly forward over the bed and slid down the side, landing gracefully right in front of her half-naked husband.

He looked down at her expectedly and unhooked his thumbs from the front of his dress pants, letting his arms rest at his side.

Hermione took a deep breath and allowed her slender fingers to work deftly over his belt buckle, then trouser buckle, then his zipper.

**PLEASE DO NOT SEND ME HATE MAIL. THE BONING IS COMING IN THE NEXT CHAPTER. I JUST HAVE TO WAIT FOR MY SON TO TAKE A NAP. I WOULD FEEL WEIRD WRITING ABOUT GETTING IT ON IN FRONT OF HIM.**


	17. I second that 'fuck'

**This one is short, but to the point. I'm not very good at writing sex scenes, so I couldn't draw it out any further!**

Hermione slid her hands around Draco's body, firmly pushing the waist of his trousers down below his well-formed ass, allowing them to slide to the floor. He steps out of them and kicks them to the side.  
>"No skivvies." Hermione noted, raising an eyebrow at him before giving him a once over. He was, em, <em>sizeable<em>, for lack of a better term.  
>And there they stood for no more than a few seconds, looking at one another, before Draco Malfoy leaned down and kissed Hermione Granger's lips gently, slowly sucking at her lower lip. A soft gasp escaped her mouth as her arms, which had hung limply at her sides, slowly made their way up to grasp his waist.<br>Draco's hands found her waist as well and he quickly lifted her slender frame onto the bed, standing between her parted legs. Their lips rejoined with more fervor.

Hermione grasps his upper arms, feeling his prominent biceps, and pulls him closer to her, pressing her chest to his.  
>Draco pressed his erection against Hermione, reveling in the uncontrollable moan that slipped out of her parted lips.<p>

"Do you want this?" He whispered feverishly to her, grinding against and releasing a slight groan himself.

"Please." She replied breathily, wrapping her legs tightly around his waist.

He deftly moved a hand down between, guiding his throbbing erection to the entrance of Hermione's sex. _This is it._ He thought to himself. _You're about to fuck a mudblood. Make it count._

He slid into her quickly, exhaling loudly as he did so.

Hermione let out a little squeak of pain as he tore through her virginity. She held him closely in place with her legs as she forced herself to grow accustomed to the strange sensation of feeling _full_.

"Come on." Draco breathed into her ear, gyrating his hips, still fully sheathed in her.  
>Hermione moaned loudly, a surprise to her, and released him from her grip. He slowly pulled out, relishing the feeling of her soft warmness clenching his cock, and slammed hard back into her.<p>

Hermione let out another cry, though there was no trace of pain this time.

"More?" He asked, though regardless of her reply he showed no signs of stopping.

She nodded furiously, lying back on the bed, her legs hanging off the edge.

Draco continued to slide in and out of her, hand on her hips, eyes following each bouncing movement of her breasts that followed every thrust.

"Fuck." He muttered, pulling her hips into him to match his movements.

Hermione was now moaning uncontrollably and her right hand had made its way down between her legs and was rubbing furiously at her clit.

"Oh Merlin." She groaned, "Faster."  
>Draco obeyed, now pounding madly into her.<p>

He could feel her body begin to stiffen beneath him and see a sheen of sweat begin to form on her body. With one last mad thrust, he felt her entire body clench around him. She let out a cry that could only signify her release. Two more pumps and he joined her in elation.

Gaining control of his breathing, Draco slowly slid out of her and crawled onto the bed beside her. He stared straight at the ceiling and she stared straight at him, still breathing heavily.

"Fuck." She said matter-of-factly.  
>"Yes, yes we did." Draco replied, eyes still fixed overhead.<p>

"No. Fuck as in 'fuck, that just happened." Hermione explained, her hands searching for the sheets to cover herself.

"Ah, yes. I second that 'fuck'."


	18. Author's Note

**Let it be known that I am fully aware of how bitchy and mean this is going to sound. Rest assured, I am only a bitch if you're a bitch to me.**

I'm gonna slip in a little 'author's note' here.

Since I've started updating again, I've received a couple of harsh reviews from some Negative Nancy's.

Examples:  
><em>So, you only want positive feedback? Not even constructive criticism? Got news for you: REAL writers aren't such cowards, only wanting their egos inflated. I'm done with this.<em>

_The Malfoys', not the Malfoy's. Their child, not they're child. Its way, not it's way. The Weasleys' owls, not the Weasley's. You seem to be unacquainted with the rules concerning possessives and plurals. I'll try to keep reading this, but frankly this sort of inattention to writing makes me sad..._

In regards to the first:  
>I AM NOT A REAL WRITER. I AM A BORED INDIVIDUAL WHO HAS LONG PERIODS OF TIME WITH NOTHING TO DO. I'm more than okay with you being 'done with this'. I'm very much done with YOU. You go so far as Chapter Nine and called it quits. Guess what! I wrote that chapter two and a half years ago so I really do not give a single rat's ass that you're not my biggest fan.<p>

In regards to the second:  
>I've already written you a reply about being a self-righteous grammar nazi. I'm sorry you're not satisfied with my writing, but you've only made it to Chapter Six. And since I am not a crazy people-pleaser who will go out of my way to make your life better, I'm not going to go back and edit all of my work from so long ago. I simply do not care. So either get over yourself and enjoy the story, or move on.<p>

And to those of you who have given me outstanding feedback, thank you! I'm not a professional writer – fuck, I make coffee for a living. This is just a hobby. I'm not trying to get 'discovered', but I very much appreciate how much you all love my story!


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